The Gentle Fist Alchemist
by xXSaSuHiNaXx
Summary: Hinata Hyuga is on a journey to find out who she really is and to find out she has joined the military. One day she receives an order to team up with Fullmetal, Hinata tries not to reveal to much about her. What'll happen when the three find out about each others pasts? Will they still help each other or will they turn against each other? Rated T for language and other things.
1. Working With Fullmetal pt 1

**Working with Fullmetal part 1**:

"Let's see now, I'm suppose to go see Colonel Roy Mustang." Said a soft and angelic voice. Her hair midnight blue that reached her waist, straight cut bangs just over her eyes and two shoulder-length strands framing her fair skin. Her eyes a light purple with no pupils, her lips a light pink color. She wears a loose fitting, long-sleeved, lavender and cream zip-up jacket with lavender cuffs and navy blue pants and black, low-heeled sandals.

As Hinata neared an alley way, she could see lots of steam errupt from there. "S-steam?" Hinata says to no one in particular. Silently and slowly she neared the alley way, when she got there she peaked in to see what happened and saw the military soldiers and two others. One of the two wore a suit of armor so she didn't get to see his face. The other wore a red-hooded long-sleeved cloak that stopped to his upper calves, under the cloak it looks like he is wearing a black jacket/shirt with white lining along the edges, but Hinata can't be sure since she's far away from him. His hair's a golden color and is in a braid, his bangs growing to the sides of his face framing his skin with a strand sticking up. His eyes looked to be the same color as his hair, which was an uncommon color for eyes. But then again so was Hinata's. He looked a bit younger than Hinata considering she's a couple of centimeters taller than him.

"Brother, he got away." The armored person said to his 'brother'.

"Dammit, now he really pissed me off!" The shorter one of the two said angryly.

"Let's go Al." The shorter one said to the armored man who's now known as 'Al'. They headed off the opposite end of the valley from where Hinata was standing. _I guess something really did happen since the military is involved._ Hinata thought._ It's better to let them handle it, I still need to see the Colonel like I was instructed to or I'll get in trouble._ And with that Hinata left the way she was previously going.

* * *

"Maybe if you ever gave us time to look!" Edward yelled to Roy.

**Knock Knock**

"Come in." Roy told. The door opened to reveal a girl no older than 15. The girl blushed and bowed to the Colonel and started explaining why she was there.

"H-h-hello, I-I'm u-umm... I-I w-was sent here b-by F-F-Fuhrer K-King Bradley, he s-said t-that y-y-you wanted to t-talk to me?" Hinata explained/asked.

"What's your name?" Roy questioned.

"M-My name is H-Hinata Hyuga I'm t-t-the G-Gentle F-Fist Alchemist, s-sir." Hinata responded as she stopped bowing.

"Ah, please take a seat in one of the couches and I'll explain to you why I called you here." Roy gestured towards the couches.

"A-alright." Hinata did as she was told and sat beside Ed, since there was more room on that couch and he looked less scary than Al.

"Wait, so she's an alchemist?" Ed asked.

"Yes and she's actually the same age as Al." Roy replied.

"She's a year younger than me?" Roy asked surprised.

"Yes, that's right. She joined the military about a year ago and is the second youngest State Alchemist, Fullmetal being the first." Roy answered.

"To join at such a young age... Brother did too but, she doesn't look like a person who likes fighting." Al commented. Hinata just sat there as her blush deepened with every sentence they said.

"Maybe that's where her State Alchem-" The door flung open revealing a military soldier.

"Roy, how goes? Heard you let them put you in charge of catching the Freezer, huh? One hell of a nasty assignment but hey, could be your chance to earn that promotion to central." Maes greeted cheerfully. Roy on the other hand was thinking "Oh great, it's him". The rest just stared at him.

"Oh ho, looks like my timing was perfect. You two are the Elric brothers, right?" Maes asked surprised. The two just sweatdropped and said "Uh huh...".

"It's a real honor to finally meet the youngest State Alchemist, your a real legend around here you. I'm Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes, it's a pleasure." Maes introduced himself while shaking Al's hands.

"Umm... You want Edward, I'm actually his younger brother Alphonse." Al corrected. Maes, in return, let go of his hands as he stared at Ed in disbelief saying "What?!".

"Your the Fullmetal Alchemist? Sorry I had no idea you'd be so-" _Go on call me little, I dare you! _Ed threatened in his mind.

"Hughes." Roy interrupted Meas.

"Yeah." Maes asked.

"What are you doing here, go home." Roy ordered.

"Actually, I'm here on official business." Maes said earning a puzzled look from Roy. "You, Elrics. I understand that you two don't have a place to stay." Maes continued as they stared at him. "Which means you two will have to come with me." Maes said as he pulled something out of his coat/jacket. The two brothers and Hinata, thinking he pulled out a gun or something, yelled "Ahh/Kyah!" Though Ed was the loudest of the three.

"My wife, Gracia, and my daughter, Elicia, would love to have you!" The three calmed down once they found that what he pulled out was only a picture.

"Hughes." Roy said annoyed.

"Yeah?" Maes asked.

"Do you mind, we still need to talk about business." Roy told Maes.

"Oh, sorry. You can go back to what you were talking about, I'll just wait here." Maes apologized/said.

"Anywho, back to business. Gentle Fist, your to-"

"Hold on a second." Maes interrupted.

"What is it now?" Roy asked feeling more annoyed.

"Your _the_ Gentle Fist Alchemist?" He asked pointing at Hinata. She nodded as she started to blush again and he made his way to her and started shaking her hand just like he was shaking Al's. "It's an honor to meet you too, I heard that you are the second youngest State Alchemist! Oh, your eyes are a light lavender color with no pupils, does that mean your blind? You must be very good to have been able to join the military while being blind, it must have probably been very hard. But wait, how can you get around easily if your blind? Don't you bump into objects and get lost? Oh, look at me asking you so many questions. But seriously, how did you do it?" Maes sent a barrage of questions at Hinata. By the time he was done talking, Hinata's face had turned the shade of a tomato.

"I-I-It's n-n-nice to meet y-y-you t-too, y-y-you can call me H-Hinata. U-umm... I'm n-n-not b-blind, actually I-I can see p-p-perfectly f-fine. I-It w-was pretty hard t-to become a S-State Alchemist, b-but not it w-was also fun t-too." Hinata tried asking his questions while still having her blush.

"Hughes, stop asking her so many questions and please let us continue without interruptions." Roy told.

"Ah, sorry I guess I got a little carried away there. Please, continue." Maes once again apologized.

"Thank you. Now, Gentle Fist you are to join Fullmetal on his journey and help him in any way you can." Roy informed.

"What!" Ed yelled. "We don't need any help, Al and I are perfectly fine on our own so she doesn't have to help us. Besides, it'll be dangerous especially since we'll probably be doing alot of fighting and to tell you the truth, she doesn't look like much of a fighter. How is she suppose to help us anyway?" Ed protested.

"I-I can fight, I'm not w-weak! I'm... I-I'm not..." Hinata stood up from her seat with her arms by her side in a fist as she yelled that. "I-I'm s-sorry I didn't m-mean t-to shout like t-that, please f-forgive me..." Hinata, realizing what she did, apologized as she sat back down on her seat with her hands on her lap and her head down. To everyone in the room it looked like Hinata was going to cry, but she wasn't. Didn't mean she didn't feel like it. Everyone in the room, except Hinata and Ed, stared at Ed. Roy and Riza were giving Ed the that-was-a-little-harsh-don't-you-think? look while Al was giving him the you-didn't-have-to-put-it-that-way-brother-apologize! look and Maes, he was giving him the you're-making-her-cry look.

"Umm... Look I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I didn't mean it it's just that I was mad that he just assigned you to work with us without consulting us first. So please don't cry, I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Ed tried asking for forgiveness.

"Y-yeah, please forgive my brother for his rudeness earlier. You see, when my brother gets mad he tends to do or say things he doesn't mean." Al tried explaining.

"H-huh? Oh no, I-I-I'm the one t-that s-should ap-apologize. I-I'm s-s-sorry!" Hinata said blushing as she realized that they were apologizing to her and she bowed to ask for forgiveness.

"Don't be silly, it was my fault so please forgive my rudeness." Ed told her.

"B-b-but-"

"Don't worry about." Ed interrupted her.

"Oh that reminds me, Hinata do you have a place to stay for the night?" Maes asked.

"W-well no, not r-really..." Hinata confessed.

"Great, then you can come over to my house too along with the Elrics!" Maes offered, though it sounded more like he ordered her.

"I-I-I c-c-can't! I-I don't want t-to bu-bother you-"

"What makes you think that your a bother to us? Don't worry about it. Oh look at the time, we should get going now." He said as he pulled on the back of Ed's and Hinata's jacket/cloak with Al walking behind them.

"Sir, do you think it's a good idea to put her with the Elrics?" Riza questioned once she was sure that they were out of earshot.

"Why do you ask Lieutenant?" Roy asked.

"Well, what's gonna happen once she finds out about the two's bodies?" Riza asked.

"You know, there's a reason why I ordered her to travel with them. You see, there are things that she knows that will probably be useful to the two boys in their search."

"How do you know that?"

"Because she has secrets that she's hiding from everyone that I'm pretty sure involve the _truth_."

"I see."

* * *

**Hi guys so how do you like the my second story?**

**I'm not sure whether to continue the story or to stop so if you don't want me to stop the story tell me. I might have the second part of this chapter up in a month or so i'm not sure but that all depends on whether you guys want me to. **

**Please review 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot of this story**


	2. Working With Fullmetal pt 2

**Hey guys, it's me! So this is the rest of the chapter that I promised to upload if I get a review saying to continue, by the way thank you so much for all the reviews! I never thought that there would be that many well maybe like 1 or 2 at most but never 7! It was quite a shock to me. Plus those of you who followed/favorited my story too. Oh and about the questions that some of you asked like if Hinata has seen the truth, well you'll have to figure that one out by reading more (if i decide to continue or have time) and the one asking me to put in Hinata's ninja skills and byakugan than don't worry, I will put that in but I don't think she'll be using her byakugan that much. I don't know about the ninjutsu or genjutsu thing yet but i'll certainly put in her great taijutsu skills! :D**

**Anyways, I like this story a lot but I'm not that good at writing it out so if I do decide to continue than I'm sorry if it ends up crappy ^_^''' This is only my second story so sorry about that. Oh and also, I'm very sorry about all the mistakes I got in this chapter! And don't worry you can tell me how crappy it is if you want, it'll help with my future writing so that I won't mess up as much! Anyway sorry for wasting your time with this and on to the story!**

* * *

**Working with Fullmetal: part 2**

"Hi princess!" Meas said happily as he hugged his daughter, Elicia, his cheek touching hers as he rubbed her with his face.

"Daddy, your beard is itchy." His daughter told him cheerfully.

"Like this? Itchy, itchy." Maes said as he kept doing it. Elicia, in return, started laughing as he did that. The two Elric brothers, Hinata and Gracia just watched them. Though, Ed didn't look as happy or thought it was as cute as the rest, he looked like he was thinking something along the lines of 'are you serious?' or 'what the hell?'.

"Look, we have guests. These two boys are the Elric brothers and this is Hinata." Maes said after he stopped and put Elicia down.

"Big brother, little brother." She said as she pointed to Al saying he was the bigger one and pointing to Ed as she said little brother, which made Ed angry.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Edward Elric. This is my younger brother, Alphonse Elric. Got that? Youn-ger Bro-ther." Ed explained.

"But younger means little, your little." Elicia backfired, which made Ed even more angrier. Maes picked up Elicia and started walking inside while Al was holding Ed at the back of his cloak to make sure he didn't beat Elicia up, much to Ed's whining. Hinata just followed behind making a mental note to never mention the word little or younger or anything to that affect when around Ed for she feared that it might be her last word. Gracia just held the door open for them as she smiled.

"Hope you guys are hunger, Gracia's cooking is delicious." Maes told us. I thought I smelled food from inside the place, so I wasn't hallucinating. Hinata thought.

Once they got inside they sat at the table where all the food was set up. Everything on the table looked delicious and Ed and Hinata couldn't wait to eat, Al wasn't as excited as them since he couldn't eat anything since he didn't really have a human body.

"Ok, eat up." Maes told the teens. The two both thanked them and started eating, both complimenting on how the food tasted great. Maes smiled as he watched the two eat.

"Don't be shy, eat all you want." Gracia told them. Maes kept on smiling but stopped when he saw that Al was still in his armor and probably can't eat with it on.

"Alphonse, how are you gonna eat with that armor on? Take it off, relax." Maes told Al. Hearing what Maes said, Ed stopped himself from taking a bite off some more food. Al tried to come up with an excuse but couldn't think of one while Ed ate the food that was on the fork, though not so cheerfully since he was panicing inside.

"He's not allowed to, he has to wear it all the time. It's uh... It's part of his alchemy training. You know how it is, I'll eat enough for both of us!" Ed paniced. Everyone just stared at the two boys as he tried told them. Alchemy training? I've never heard of alchemy training like that. Hinata thought to herself. "Training, choo choo!" Elicia cheerfully said while holding her hands up.

After dinner, Hinata offered to help with cleaning the dishes which Gracia accepted after much dismay since Hinata was a guest. As Hinata and Gracia cleared the table, Maes showed the brothers to their room.

"Can I ask you a question?" Gracia said.

"S-sure, w-what is it?" Hinata asked, picking up a plate from the sink to clean it.

"I hope I'm not being rude by asking this and if you want you don't have to answer but, why did you join the military at such a young age?" Gracia asked. Hinata stopped in the middle of cleaning the plate and just looked down trying to find a way to reply.

"... I-I can't r-really tell you the e-exact r-reason but p-part o-of that reason i-is s-so t-that t-to protect this c-country and to a-also get i-information that I-I can only get b-by becoming a S-State Alchemist." Hinata explained. Hinata wasn't lying but she wasn't telling the entire truth either, if they were to find out her real reason then they would prbably start questioning her and she doesn't want that.

"I see but what information do you need, if you don't mind me asking." Gracia asked.

"..." Hinata didn't reply. She kept staring at the plate in her hands not able to answer, what was she suppose to say?

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I was just kinda curious." Gracia told her. Hinata thought for a moment, for some reason she like she could trust Gracia in keeping her secret, but she barely knew Gracia so how would she know whether she can trust her or not.

"I-If I tell you, will y-you k-keep it a s-secret?" Hinata asked. Gracia didn't seem like a bad person so maybe it'll be alright if she knew, for some reason she wanted to tell her the truth.

"Of course, you can count on me to keep you secret!" Gracia assured her.

"T-the... T-the reason I joined the military i-is to f-find o-out who I really a-am." Hinata said. It's too late now to take back my words, I mean she promised that she wouldn't tell so she wouldn't, right?

"Find out who you really are?" Gracia questioned.

"Y-yeah, that's right. The military h-has lots of b-books about lots of t-things and the only way to see them i-is to join the m-military. There's a-also t-the part where I can travel t-to l-lots of places and d-do things a bit more freely and not g-get q-questioned since I'm in the military. I also want to k-know more about my mother." Hinata explained.

"I see and don't worry, I won't tell anyone. It's our little secret." Gracia told.

"T-thank you." Hinata thanked. "For some reason, t-talking to you makes m-me f-feel better and r-reassured." Hinata said.

"I guess that just means that you trust me and feel comfortable around me, even though we only known each other for a couple of hours."

"I-I guess your r-right, I do feel more r-relaxed around you."

"I'm glad to hear that, I also feel comfortable around you and it feels like we've known each other for a long time now and not for a couple of hours."

"C-can I ask you s-something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you t-think that I'm doing the right t-thing i-in becoming a State A-Alchemist?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure if it's a good thing or not but, as long as it's for good reasons and you don't get into bad situations then I guess it's alright. Being in the military means that you will be able to protect the weak against the enemy but, it also means that you will probably have to kill if the higher ups tell you to. I can't say that being in the military is a good thing, but I guess that it's also not a bad thing either. For a girl your age, it dangerous to be in the military because you can get killed in battle. Well, atleast that's what I think."

"I-I see..." For some reason Hinata felt like crying, was it because she told Gracia the real reason why she joined the military? No, it was something else. It felt like a load was lifted off of her, like she all of a sudden became lighter. It felt good for some reason, she didn't know what it was, but she did. She was happy for some reason, too. Gracia reminded her so much of her mother that it hurt being around her, yet it felt nice too. Just remembering her mother made Hinata feel like crying, and she did.

Hinata couldn't hold back the warm wet tears that streamed down her cheeks, her cheeks heating up too. She hadn't cried this much in a long time, it felt good for some reason. She probably looked stupid right now with all her crying, it was so embarrassing. She's an alchemist, alchemist don't cry! And here she is being a big cry baby... But for some reason she didn't mind.

Gracia, seeing her cry, went to her and hugged her. She wasn't sure why Hinata was crying for and felt that maybe it was her fault. She did the only thing she could right now, she patted Hinata's back and let her cry. To her, Hinata really was just a kind and innocent girl. So fragile that it looked like if you just touch her, she could break. Yet, she was in the military surrounded by things that could easily break her, tear her up inside and out and she didn't want that. Over the past few hours that she was here, Hinata had become like another daugther to her and she didn't want anything to happen to her.

Just then Maes walked to the door that led to the kitchen and saw the crying girl and his wife. Not sure of what happened and not wanting to ruin the moment, Maes decided to just stand there and watch the two. He walk up to the two and ask what was wrong, to help the girl. But he knew that the thing she needed right now was to cry and let all her emotions out. Over the hours Ed, Al, and Hinata became like his sons and daughter. Of course not like his daughter, Elicia, but close to that. It pained him to see such young children in the military, where they could easily be killed or be ordered to kill.

"T-thank you." Hinata said. The two looked at her and smiled, it was nice to see that she was ok. "T-thank you." Hinata repeated. She kept repeating those two words for a while until they had decided that it was time for her to go to bed to rest. She had agreed and headed over to the room she was given feeling exhausted.

Hinata sat on her bed thinking back to everything that happened today. She stilled worried about that steam explosion that happened in the alley way and why there were so many military soldiers there. That was also where she first saw the two brothers. They don't seem like bad people, I guess it'll be alright if I helped them just as long as I don't reveal too much about myself. It's gonna be a bit harder for me to search for more information that could help me find out more of what I need to know though. But then again, I haven't had much luck with my progress traveling by myself anyway. Now that I think about it, there was something strange about the younger of the two. It's probably just my imagination. I should probably get to bed since it's getting quite late out. With that, Hinata went to bed.

"Get a medic, hurry!" Yelled one of the officers.

"Report to headquarters, five men dead!" Another yelled.

"How awful." Al said.

"Looks like a steam explosion. Raise the temperature fast enough and it expands in the force of a bomb blast. The human body is 70% water." Ed explained.

"Come on let's hurry. We have to find him before he hurts anyone else." Ed told us. Al agreed and followed Ed while Hinata just kept staring at the injured man.

"Aren't you coming?" Al stopped walking and asked Hinata when he noticed that Hinata hadn't moved, Ed too stopped but just stared at her waiting for her reply.

"Y-you guys go on a-ahead, I-I'm g-gonna stay h-here a little l-longer." Hinata told them. They agreed and continued walking and soon were out of sight of Hinata.

She continued to look at the man that had been frozen solid. The medics arrived and took a look at the man. After examing him for a couple of minutes, they shook their heads and told one of the soldiers that he was dead. The soldier that the medic was talking to told the soldiers that they were to move him out of here. They did as they were told and carried the guy to a different place. How could someone do something so cruel to a person? Hinata thought to herself.

After standing there for a couple of minutes earlier, Hinata decided that she should catch up to the other two but didn't know where to go. I don't know which way they went, how am I suppose to catch up to them? This is a big problem... Hinata thought as she started walking in the direction she saw the two go. I got it, I'll use that! I'll have to make sure that no one sees me though, I know I'll hide in the alley way. Hinata ran towards a nearby alley way and looked out to make sure that no one was around to see her.

"Byakugan!" She softly whispered as she made a handsign. Her lavender eyes grew sharp and veins grew from her temples. Once the Byakugan activated, she had almost a near 360 degree vision. She searched around for a couple of seconds until she saw two people fighting. Found them! She thought when she spotted the two people she was looking for. She deactivated her Byakugan and was about to head out when she heard a voice call to her.

"Hey you, what are you doing in here it's dangerous." Someone yelled to her. Hinata, in return, screamed lightly in surprise and horror. She turned her head slowly to the person with her eyes as big as saucers, hoping it wasn't a military soldier and that he hadn't seen her use her technique. She had been so focused on finding the Elrics that she hadn't been paying attention to the people around her, and now she might be in trouble.

To her horror it was a military soldier, and the worst part is that he might have seen her. If he saw that then he would probably report it to the fuhrer, which is not good.

Hinata tried to calm herself down and trying to think of something, which was hard. Gotta think of something. Gotta think of something! Come on Hinata, think of something! Wait, maybe he didn't see me use the Byakugan. Yeah! And besides, if he did really see me use it, then I can just pretend that I don't know what he's talking about! Ahh, but I don't want to lie! I was raised to always tell the truth, well some truth...But still! Ah, that's right, I'm a state alchemist so I can just say I was inspecting this allyway or something!

"I-I-I-I w-w-was j-just i-inspecting t-t-this a-ally f-f-for a-a-a-anything s-suspicious! Y-y-you s-s-see I-I'm a-a-a S-S-S-State A-Alchemist, t-t-the Ge-Gentle F-F-Fist Alchemist! I-I-I c-can e-e-even p-prove it, s-see." I said panicking while pulling out my State Alchemist watch, which if you don't know, shows that I'm a State Alchemist. He came closer and looked at it seriously before bowing to her and asking for forgiveness for his rudeness, saluting Hinata to show his respect. Hinata blushed and bowed to him telling him that he didn't have to apologize.

After that little incident, Hinata made her way to the the two Elric brothers as fast as she could. It was starting to get late and she hoped that she could find them soon. They weren't at the place where she saw them last with her Byakuga so she was getting kinda worried about them. The people there told her that they went somewhere right after the Freezing Alchemist escaped. She was really tempted to use her Byakugan to try and find out where they were but that would mean she would have to hide somewhere where no one could see her, since there were a lot of soldiers out looking or him, not to mention a couple of the other civilians. Sighing, she continued searching for the two Elrics.

After about half an hour, she thought that she saw the man who the military was persuing. Curious, she followed him as quietly as she could so he wouldn't notice her. She had heard some stories about how he served the military and was involved in the war with Ishbal, that after the war he had quit being a state alchemist. The war was sad, really. It had gotten so bad that her home country was also involved in the war, there were so many people that had died in the war. Though the ones that she felt sorry for the most was the Ishbalans. Because of something that one military soldier, even though it was an accident - what she was told - it caused a whole civil war.

Hinata had been following Isaac McDougal - the Freezing Alchemist - for about ten minutes when she realized just where he was going, which kinda horrified and made her curious. He was making his way towards the prison for some reason. Maybe he's going to see a fiend in there? Hinata thought. I mean why else would someone be going to the prison on his/her own free will, certainly not to be in jail!

He made his way into the prison, which Hinata followed of course. She walked down the halls about a hundred meters away from him to make sure he wouldn't notice her, stopping occasionally to check on the guards he either froze or burned. It was kinda creepy inside, she had to admit that. The halls were a light grey color with a couple of spider webs inbetween the corners connecting the celling and walls, some of the lights in a coouple of the places weren't working that well. You could hear the prisoners calling out to either the gaurds or Issac to let them out or telling them to go to hell, well half were talking while the other half were quiet.

It was pretty hard to be in that place with all theprisoners and gaurds there, then there was the fact that she was ollowing someone strong and trying not to get caught. The prisoners weren't helping either! They kept on trying to talk to her saying stuff like "hey little gir, what'cha doing in a place like this?" and "Hey beautiful, wanna come here and break me out of this place? I'll even give you a reward for it" and other stuff including insulting or taunting her which kinda horrified her, especially the parts about the reward.

It was hard to try to keep herself from being foud out with all the noise, she had even been thinking of going into the vents to try to keep a watch over him like that. But she was um...too big to well...fit in the vents, if you know what I mean. That is until she came across a vent that she was able to fit in, even though it was still tight in it. She could tell that she was blushing right now because of this whole thing, and by whole things I mean about the prisoners and the vents (poor Hinata...).

Slowly, she followed Issac towards a bar gate with a guard and inside the bars was another door which was different from how the others were. The others were just bars unlike this one which is a door! Of course there was a gaurd there also which led to Isaac freezing him solid. Hinata, the kind girl she is, felt really sad about it and wanted to stop him from doing that but knew she couldn't. One, he was probably much stronger than her and had more experience. Two, that would mean she would have to reveal herself to him. Three, she wouldn't have made it in time anyways since the vent was kinda squeezing her. So she had no choice but to stay there and watch as he froze the gaurd, of course Hinata felt really guilty about not being able to stop him.

"Hahahaha. Hands down that's gotta be the funniest thing I've heard in a long long time. The Freezing Alchemist wants me to come play his side kick. Well as fun as that sounds the Crimson Alchemist works alone, always have, always will." Came the voice inside the door.

"Kimbley, if we work together we can bring down Bradley and his god forsaken military. You saw the horrors that took place in Ishbal, you were there dammit! You know the things, radley ordered us to do, the kind of man he really is!" Issac told Kimbley. The kind of man he really is? The things he ordered them to do? The horrors that took place in Ishbal? What exactly went on in Ishbal? Hinata wondered. Even though she wasn't that close to them, she could stilll hear them loud and clear from where she was.

"That's why you killed all those officers isn't it? To sent him a message?" Isaac continued.

"Hahahaha." Kimbley laughed. "I think you've got me all wrong, my motives aren't so sophisticated as revenge or honor or any of that. The reason I killed all of those men was because I could, it's that simple." Kimbley explained. Now Hinata was eve more horrified. Why would anyone want to kill for plrease?

"Hn." Isaac grinned. "That's to bad, Kimbley. That truly is to bad." Isaac told him. He walked up to the bar gate and patted the guard telling him to keep up the good work. Hinata squelled inside as the guard fell and some of him broke off. Deciding that it was time for her to also go, she silently jumped down from the vent when she thought the coast was clear.

"So, you've finally come out of hiding, huh?" Now Hinata was even more horrified and scared. "I know that you're there, I heard you when you were crawling over here to spy. Don't worry I won't hurt you, so you can answer." Hinata stood there frozen. How was he able to hear her? She made sure to be really silden as she could.

"H-h-h-how d-d-d-did y-you k-k-k-know t-that I-I-I-I-I w-was h-h-here?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, so you're a girl? I thought that it was someone else like one of those military guys not a scared kitten. Anyways, didn't you hear what I said earlier? 'Cause I though I already told you that I heard you crawling through the vents."

"L-l-little k-k-kitten...? I-I-I'm n-n-nota l-l-l-little k-k-kitten! I-I-I'm a-a-a-a state a-alchemist." Hinata told him, not liking being called a little kitten.

"A state alchemist? I never knew that the military was so weak or desperate to let a kitten join them." Kimberly moked. It was true. Hinata really wasn't the most strongest or bravest person in the world, she didn't even know why someone like her was even allowed to take part in the test, let alone join the military (sorry guys, don't worry I'll make her more self-confident in the future so don't kill me! I just thought that it would be a bit more interesting to start her off like this). She started running toward the entrance to the prison, she didn't want to hear anymore of how useless or weak she was anymore.

Kimbley smirked when he heard her run. Who would have thought that she would be that easy to tease. Sigh. And here he wanted to play with her a little more. Oh well.

XxXxXx

Hinata ran down the streets, not caring where she was going to. She ket running until she heard a noise and a red light flashing around her. A transmutation circle! But how can someone be able to perform one this big and powerful? Hinata thought. She looked around and saw some big ice bergs making their way towards the center of Central. Somone's planning on freezing all Central! Hinata ran towards one of the ice bergs to try and see if she could break it and destroy the transmutation circle. Plus, she also needed to find the Elric brothers soon, since she's suppose to be helping them.

She made her way there and saw a bunch of military soldiers and a big man there, his shirt gone (and as you can guess, Hinata was of course blushing hard to this). There was also another guy who looked really pissed off at something.

Hinata ran up to one of the soldiers and ask if they knew where the Elric brothers were. "They wen there not too long ago-" The man pointed towards Central Command before continuing his sentence. "By the way, you shouldn't be out here, it's too dangerous." The mand told Hinata bute saw that she wasn't there anymore.

Hinata ran as fast as she could to where the soldier pointed to and hoped she could get there in time and help defeat Issa, plus ask him some questions. BOOM. She stopped running alooked back to see an explosion. After a couple of seconds, she saw that the ice was destroyed, well atleast some of it. Deciding that it was more important to get to the two brothers since she knew it was the military, she ran towards them again.

Hinata stopped running after she saw the two she was looking for and sighed in relief. That is until she saw Ed's wound. Scared, horrified, andfeeling guilty for not making it back earlier, Hinata ran to the boys panicking.

"E-E-E-Ed w-w-what h-happened t-t-to y-you? Y-Y-Y-Your shoulder's b-b-bleeding!"

"Don't worry about me, it's nothing." Ed told her.

"I-It i-is not n-nothing! Y-you're in pain, I-I c-can tell. Please l-let m-me help y-you" Hinata said as she took out some ointment from her pocket. "H-here, l-l-let me take a l-look a-at it."

"I told you, it's okay." "But it's n-not o-okay, you're b-b-bleeding!"

"This is nothing! we gotta go after him, he's getting away!" Ed yelled. "Dammit, he's gonna pay for what he did to me!" Ed got up and ran to where she guessed was where Isaac ran off to. "Ed wait for me! Geez!" Al ran after Ed.

Hinata sat there thinking for a couple of seconds. Ed's hurt and it was only because I didn't come here earlier to help hom defeat that guy... I guess I really am useless... Well, I better get going before anything else happens. Hinata stood up and was about to ran after them when she felt something, something strong and scary. She had been able to fele it here before, but she never paid much attentionattention to it thinking it was probably just someone using alchemy or someone really strong. That is, until now. It was horrifying, like something evil was here down below, just waiting to come out. A predator stalking its prey, watching its every move and waiting for the right time to attack.

But as soon as it had come, it was gone. Well not tally gone, Hinata could still feel power coming from everywhere, underground that is. It was weird and scary. But maybe she was hallucinating, maybe it was a dream or something, nothing never happened, she was imaging it, atleast that's what Hinata hoped. She hoped but it was real, it had to be. It felt so real, yet she really wished it didn't.

No, what am I thinking, this isn't the time to worry about that, I have to go and help the Elric brothers! Hinata got up and started running towards the direction the two went, she just hoped that nothing bad would happen.

XxXxXx

No, no way! He's...he's dead... Hinata stared at Isaac's dead body, horrified. She couldn't believe her eyes, how could he be dead? It's horrible, no one deserved to die, not even the evilist person on the earth! There was still some questions she wanted to ask him too, but now how could she? The Elrics, too, were surprised. None of them knew what to say or think about the scene. Fuhrer Kind Bradley and some other officers were there inspecting Isaac's body and reporting about it.

"Fuhrer Kind Bradley, you're here?" Ed asked finally getting over his shock

"Ah yes, a job well done Fullmetal. I came here so see if I could lend a hand, and to think that I'd actually be the one to catch him. If nothing else, this should make an exciting story for my son." Bradley said, smiling.

After that, Ed was taken to the hospital to get his arm healed and Al came with him too, of course. The military took Isaac's body and disposed off it, you could say. Hinata had thought about coming with them but decided against it, thinking that she could just visit him later. There was so much on her mind that she wanted some time to herself to well... think about it. Before leaving, she wished Ed a full recovery and told him that she would visit him when she could.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review it if you can!**

**Well I gtg do my homework... (My teacher's gonna kill me...! I haven't done one thing and it's already like 10:20 p.m.) Sigh. Please wish me luck as I try to finish my big pile of homework and if I don't than hope that I don't get killed (figure of speach by the way for the ones who don't know) ^_^''' Bye**


	3. The City of Leore and Elric's Pasts

**Hey there, how's it going? Anyways, I've finished making chapter 2 and now I'm doing 3 so look forward to 3 if you still think that this story is interesting! I'm sorry if there are a lot of mistakes on here, it's just that I thought that I should upload this as soon as possible because I probably won't be able to upload it later because I got tests coming up. There isn't that much scenes of Hinata fighting yet but as the story progresses, there'll be more fighting scenes with her. Oh and if you guys would like, you can suggest some stuff that I can put in my story if you'd like and if you want, I can make this story with a pairing. Though you'll have to tell me which pairing you want, and if you'd like I can make a poll with it? Anyways, I've added some extras in here just for the fun of it, though they're probably not funny. I'm still getting used to writing funny scenes, so I'm warning you that they will most likely not be funny! Anyways back to the stor**y.

**I don't know Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto.**

"Megaphone/radio"**  
**

"Normal Talk"

_Thought_

_Flashback_

**Action (like crash or** **sigh)**

**"Group of peopel say something at time"**

* * *

Hinata's POV

"God's children who live upon this land have faith in thee and ye shall be saved. Those who have lost their way from sun god leto..."

"So what are you guys? some kind of street performers?" Asked the shop owner. Ed spit out his drink at his question which I was thinking was due to him thinking that the shop owner was stupid for asking a dumb question like this, though I guess I wouldn't blame him (the shop owner) for thinking that since we looked kinda out-of-place.

"Seriously?! Do we look like street performers to you?" Ed asked.

"Well yeah, that's why I asked." The shop owner replied which got Ed angry and told us we should go. We got out of our chairs, though since Al's so big, he ended up hitting his metal helmet/head and making the radio come crashing down and break.

"Hey! easy, I didn't mean nothing by it." The shop owner told us.

"Sorry, accident. We'll fix it." Ed apologized/said.

"How's that? It's smashed to hell!" The shop owner wondered.

"Sit and learn gramps." Ed told him as Al started drawing a transmutation circle around the broken pieces. I guess that means he'll fix it with alchemy but I never knew that the younger brother knew alchemy too, but then again I guess it's pretty obvious that he would know alchemy.

"Ok, here it goes." I heard Al say and everyone go 'awe' as Al used alchemy and fixed the radio.

"There, see, how's that?" Ed asked with prideness in his voice.

"Amazing, it's a miracle! You've been touched by the sun god just like Father Cornello." The shop owner said, amazed. This got my attention. I'm not really a religious person but I've never really heard someone performing miracles before, maybe alchemy but never miracles. Was this guy a fraud or could he really perform miracles?

"Touched by who now?" Ed asked looking disappointed.

It's not a miracle, it's alchemy." Al explained.

"Ah, so you two are alchemists? I've heard of them before." One of the people who witnessed the radio being fixed said. For some reason it feels like I've all of a sudden turned invisible. This seems to happen alot to me for some reason... especially when I'm near Ed and Al... I don't really mind though but it's harder for me to talk to them or go anywhere, it's especially hard to move around even a bit when the people surround the two and I'm in the middle of the crowd.

"Well then maybe you've heard of us, we are the Elric brothers." Ed pridefully boasted.

"The Elric brothers, you say?" The shop owner asked. I just hope that they didn't get the person wrong like everyone else, including me, 'cause it'll end up chaos with Ed trying to kill everyone for getting it wrong, yet again. He was even going to probably strange little Elicia if it wasn't for Al holding him back. Just please don't get it wrong, please. I beg of you, I don't want to see anyone getting hurt!

"Wait I do konow of them."

"You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, right?"

"So you're the one we've heard all the stories about, huh?"

"Now I know why they named you that." I heard the people say as they crowded around Al. They got it wrong...! Please realize who it is! That it's the one with the red cloak and black uniform! And don't call him short or anything like that, please...!

I looked towards Ed afraid of what he was going to do. To my surprise he just stood there with his arms crossed of his chest and a smirk on his face. Well, until Al told everyone that it wasn't him and someone had to ask if it really was the runt. Ed burst out in anger and started shouting at the people. Al and I hurried towards Ed and tryed to calm him down, which didn't really work that well. He had gotten so mad that he was reado to kill them. Al had grabbed his shoulders trying to stop him while my arms were on his cest trying to push him back. It was hard and it took a while but we finally got him to calm down. Relieved that we were able to stop him, I sat on the ground tired and stayed like that for a while.

Now that I think about it, I had my hands on his chest and I was so lose to him... I was so- I had my-... I could feel my face heat up from the memory. It felt like I was ready to explode from embarrassment. I just hope that no one was looking at me right now or that would be even more embarrasing. _Gah! Calm down Hinata, you had to do that to stop him from inuring the people, remember? If you hadn't done that then he would have surely hurt someone! Dang it! Gotta think of something else! Gotta get my mind off of it!_

"So what's with this guy on the radio?" Ed questioned, interrupting me from my thoughts. That's right, I almost forgot about him.

"Th-that's our leader, Father Cornello." The shop owner stuttered, still scared of Ed.

"We were lost until he came to town teacing us all the ways of the sun god leto." One man said. "He grands eternal life to the faithful." The other continued. "He can even bring back the dead, his miracles are proof of what he says is true." Another completed. _Bring back the dead? How's that even possible?_ I looked at Ed and Al to see if they thought so too.

"So this guy's claiming he can bring the dead back to life, huh? Well that's something I'd like to see." Ed said. It seemed like Ed was also curious about this guy and the only way to find out is see if it's true. I guess that meant that we were going to go see the prist - not that I don't mind. Actually, I would love to meet him. I what the priest and the towns people said about him being able to resurrect the dead was true, then that might help us.

"Hey Hinata, you coming?" Ed called interrupting me from my thoughts, again.

"C-coming!" I told them as I ran to them.

Cheers could be heard all around us as the 'priest' performed another of one of his 'miracles'. I watched as he performed his 'miracle' which was obviously alchemy. For some reason my head hurt, though I tried to ignore it. I covered my sensitive ears as more cheers errupted from the people as he finished his 'miracle'. I guess my suspicions were correct, he really was just an alchemist. But to be able to do all those things bypassing the law of equivelent exchange could only happen if, if he was using a pilosopher's stone! That's the thing that the Elric's are searching for.

I watched as Mr. Cornello turned a flower into a flower decoration on him and on the statue behind him.

"So that's it, huh?" I heard Ed say.

"T-t-that's al-alchemy right?" I asked. The two nodded in response.

"No doubt about it." Al said.

"But somehow he's able to bypass the law of equivalent exchange He should've only been able to transmute something of equal mass." Ed told.

"He's changing organic matter into inorganic matter. He shouldn't be able to do that, unless-" "Yeah there's just one way." Ed said. "The philosopher's stone!" Al exclaimed. "Bingo." Ed confirmed.

So he really does have the philopher's stone? But wait, now that I think about it... Why are they after the philospher's stone anyway?

"U-um... E-excuse m-me, Ed?"

"What?"

"I-I hope I'm not being r-rude or a-anything a-and y-you don't have to answer if you d-don't want to but, why are you after the philosopher's s-stone?" I asked. I could see Ed tense up, Al I wasn't so sure about because he was in a suit of armor. _Did I ask a personal question? I hope not._

"W-we heard about the stone and its powers and we wanted to see it for ourselves, find out if it's true or not...!" Ed blabbered out fast that I almost couldn't catch it.

"Y-yeah.. That's right..haha... hahaha." Al agreed, his hand on the back of his head. With the way they were acting, I could tell that they were lying and didn't want to tell. I didn't say anything. If it's something so private that they didn't want to say then they don't have to. They have as much right to keep their secret a secret from me and everyone else just as much as I do.

"Hey, you coming?" Ed yelled. I looked to see that they were atleast thirty feet away from me.

"Y-yeah, sorry!" I said as I ran towards them. It seems to me like I'm spacing out a lot today.

XxXxXx

**Ding Ding~~ Ding Ding~~**

As we entered the church we saw a girl infront of a table with candles, praying.

"So this is the almighty Leto." Ed spoke. The girl stood up and looked at us.

"Welcome. Are you interested in Letoism?" The girl asked.

"Nope. Can't say I am. Not really the religious type." Ed replied.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. To know god is, to know hope. If we believe in divine grace, through him all things are possible. If you believed, I'm sure Leto will bless you and make you taller." The girl said in a cheery voice.

"What's that suppose to mean!" Ed questioned, mad.

"Easy brother, she's just trying to help." Al told Ed.

Calming down, Ed walked over to a bench in the front and sat.

"What about bringing the dead back to life, do you believe that is possible too?" Ed asked.

"Yes." The girl responded. Ed sighed and pulled out a notebook.

"Water 35 L, carbon 20 kg, amonia 4 L, lime 1.5 kg, phospherus 80 g..." I listened confusingly as Ed started listing off some kind of ingredient. It felt like I was learning chemistry. I looked over to the girl, she also looked confused. **Slam**. I looked over to Ed to see that he had close his notebook and was leaning forward.

"That list represents the complete chemical make out for the human body for the average adult It's been calculated to the last microgram but still, there's never been one reported case of succressfully creating a human life. And you're telling me that something modern science can't do, you can do with prayer?"

"Lift thy voice to god and the prayers of the faithful will be answered."

"Did I mention that all those ingredients I read off, a kid can buy every of those for the spair change in his pocket. As it turns out, humans are pretty cheap." I watched as Ed and the girl argued. '_It's been calculated to the last microgram but still, there's never been one reported case of successfully creating a human life'_ Ed's words echoed through my mind. _That's not true, women create life everyday by giving birth to a baby._

"-and he came crashing back to earth, right Al?" I heard Ed say. "Brother..." Was Al's response.

"Umm..." I wasn't sure whether I should say it or not.

"What is it?" Ed asked. I guess it's too late to back out now.

"Y-y-you're k-kinda wrong, E-E-Ed. People make l-life e-everyday. I-I-I m-mean, there a-are hundreds of women who g-give b-b-birth to new life. Both the m-m-men and w-w-w-women help create n-new life and the women i-is the one w-who b-brings the new life t-to earth. So...you a-a-actually can create life..." I said nervously, a blush spread across my face. They looked at me with shock written on their faces. _Did I say something wrong?_ I wondered.

"AH! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN BY CREATING LIFE!" Ed yelled at me, angrily.

"Hahaha! She just proved you wrong Ed," Al laughed. "I never really thought of that."

"Whatever!" Ed yelled out frustrated.

"Um...excuse me but, is it ok if I meet this father Cornello? I would love to see one of his 'miracles' and maybe talk to him more about Leto, if that's ok with you and father Cornello?" I asked.

"Sure! I'm sure that father Cornello would love to talk with you, new Letoist's are always welcome!" The girl said happily. "Thank you." I bowed to show my thanks

"Is it ok if this arrogant scientist comes wih you too to see if I can also be saved?" Ed asked. _He's pretty good at lying_, I thought.

"Of course, that's wonderful! If anyone can lead you to the creaters life, he can!" the girl said enthusiastically.

XxXxXxXxXx

"This way please, father Cornello is a busy man as you can see. But you're in luck, he's decided to spare a moment for you." The man leading us told us.

"Yeah thanks, we unerstand, we won't take too much of his time." Ed said. _I got a bad feeling, and it's worse here than back at when we first arrived at this city. My head's hurting for some reason too, and it's been becoming worse everytime I'm near Mr. Cornello... It's kinda like in Central though not exactly as strong..._

"Good then it's agreed, we'll make this quick." The man said. **Click**. The man pulled out a gun and aimed it at Al while Ed was being held back by two man with spears, I was also being held back but only by one man. He had a gun in his hands, touching the back of my head ready to pull the trigger which would kill me if I dared do something.

"Brother Cray (?) what is this? What do you think you're doing?" The girl questioned. I could tell that she was scared and confused. Deciding to wait to attack, I stood still waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Rose, these heathens have come to ensnare and disgrace the father. They're evil, this is god's will." The man replied.

"Well like you said, let's make this quick." I heard Ed say. He kicked the guy to his left and threw the guy to his right down on the floor, hard. Al punched the man known as Cray square in the face. I just stood there, dumfounded yet again.

"Halt or I'll shoot!" The man behind me said. I dropped down and kicked him in the chin, knocking him out. I looke dto see one of the guys Ed knocked on the floor run away. Or atleast try, Ed had picked up one of the spears and kicked it at him the wood part hitting him on the back of his head, knocking him out.

"Oh yeah! Strike!" Ed exclaimed.

"What's this commotion!" I heard a voice say. I looked to see a man dressed in black and white come out of the shadows.

"Ah, Fullmetal alchemist, welcome to the home of our sacred order." The man said.

"Ah! Father Cornello!" The girl spoke happily.

"I must apologize for my disciples' behavior, it would seem they've been misguided."

"Ok, Let's say I believe you weren't the one guiding them, what next?" Ed questioned.

"Have you come to learn the ways of Leto?" The man asked.

"Well there are a few things I'm curious about, like how have you been using second rate alchemy to decieve your followers?" Ed responded/asked.

"My dear boy, I don't know what you are talking about. What you're doubting as alchemy is the miracle of the sun god Leto." The man said as he performed one of his 'miracles'. "What you see here could mere alchemy make something from nothing?" He questioned.

"Yeah that's what I didn't get at first. how can you perform transmutations that ingnore the law of equivalent exchange?" Ed responded.

"As I said, because it isn't alchemy!" Cornello replied angrily.

"Then I started thinking about it, if yu somehow managed to acquire a certain object to aplify your alchemy, one that's said to make impossible possible. That would explain everything." Ed said.

"What?"

"I'm talking about the philospher's stone. Your ring, that's it isn't it? I've been looking for that." Ed told him.

"A ring is just a ring. I am god's humble servant, it is from he alone that I derived my power."

"Still trying to sell that line, huh? If that's the way you want to play it then I'll have to come up there and beat some truth out of you!"

"My, you really are quite the pesky heathen aren't you? Rose dear."

"Yes father?"

"That gun there beside you, pick it up."

"Ah? O-ok..." Rose picked up the gun just like Cornello said.

"Now child, I want you to shoot the Fullmetal alchemist."

"No, I.." Rose said looking horrifed.

"I am the sun god's chosen my word is the word of Leto itself. Shoot him Rose, it's god's will." Slowly, Rose lifted the gun up to her chest, hesitant about firing.

"Why hesitate, Rose? When you lost your fiance to that tradgic accident last year, who was it that saved you from the very depths of despair? Have you forgotten?" I looked at Rose, she was trembling though I couldn't blame her.

"It was you father."

"That's right, it was I who took your hand and led you to god's light, and you recall what it was that I told you then?"

"You said that if I had faith you'd bring him back to life!" Rose yelled out, She pointed the gun at Al, ready to shoot him.

"No wait, it's not me honestly!" Al told them. _She got it wrong...!_ I thought. She looked at Ed confused.

"Dammit, I'm the Fullmetal alchemist! It's not him, it's me!" Ed yelled.

"It's the short one!? You're kidding!" Cornello yelled, surprised. Now that that was cleared up, Rose pointed the gun at Ed this time.

"I'm sorry but I, I have to do this... I don't have any choice."

"You're wrong Rose! You do have a choice, you can choose not to do this." I told her.

"That's right, he's been lying to you Rose."

"You're wrong, I've seen his miracles! Father Cornello will bring him back to life, I have faith!"

"Fine, shoot!" Ed ordered her.

"W-what!?" I yelled, I looked over to Ed hoping that he wasn't serious. His face showed that he was, his eyes narrowed and a frown plastered on his face._ He's serious...!_ That's when she pulled the trigger but instead of hitting Ed, it hit Al in the head. His body came crashing down on the ground, his metal head/helmet some ways away from him.

"Al!" Ed an I yelled in unison. I ran over to him to him to make sure he was ok. I heard Rose scream, but paid no attention to it. My main objective right now was to see whether Al was alright or not. I neared his still body and knelt down beside him. That's when I saw it, or should I say not see it. His head, his head wasn't there. No one was inside the armour, only black could be seen.

I was so concentrated on Al that I hadn't noticed Cornello speak, nor did I noticed that Al was getting up, that he was talking. No, I was too engrossed in finding out that Al had no body. I was trembling, trembling because of what I didn't see, what I found out. How could someone move without a body? Who was that? Was that really Al? Was that even a human? More and more questions piled up inside my head, so much that my head began to spin. I wasn't in the room anymore, my head was somewhere else. Everything around me was black, nothing could be heard but the questions in my head. That is, until I heard a loud roar. The roar brought me out of my head, out of it and back to the room. I was so immersed in Al and his body that I forgot the situation that I was in. That _we_ were in.

"So this is the sort of thing you do with the philosopher's stone, huh? Now that's just twisted." I heard Ed saying. I looked over to where he was to see some him and some kind of animal a few feet away from him. The front half of it's body was that of a lion, the other looked like it was part dragon..? I've never seen something like this before, is this what they call a chimera?

I sat, still in the position as when I went to see if Al was alright, watching as the chimera jumped at Ed.

"Anyway, looks like I need a weapon." Ed said, clasping his hands together and bringing them down on the ground. A bright blue-white light appeared and a spear emerged from the ground. _No transmutation circle?! But I thought... it can't be!?_ I heard the priest yell something out but I was too focused on Ed to make out the words.

As the chimera attacked Ed, he tried to block with his spear but it broke in half by the chimera, also getting a blow to his leg. "Ed!" I called to him. _I gotta do something, if this keeps up then Ed will get teared up by the chimera._

"You shredded my pants." Ed huffed in annoyance. The chimera lunged out at him again, but Ed kicked the chimera a few feet away, revealing an automail leg. "I guess those claws don't do well against steel." Ed said. _No...no way, his leg is... he has an automail leg!_

"Bite him you stupid beast!" Cornello yelled annoyed. _I gotta help him!_ Activating my byakugan, I jumped towards Ed and went into my Jyuken stance.

"Eight trigrams sixty-four palms!" I yelled out, jabbing the chimera's pressure/chakra points. In a matter of seconds the chimera was lying on the ground, sixty-four of its chakra points blcoked.

"Ed! Are you ok?" I asked, concerned. He looked dumbfoundedly at me. "No-no way! How'd you do that? A-and your eyes...?" He questioned, pointing at my eyes. That's when I realized that I still had my byakugan activated. Quickly I deactivated them, hoping that only he saw them.

"I'll explain later. Right now, we have better things to do." I told him. He nodded slowly. I was about to turn around when someone pushed me to the side. "Look out!" I heard someone yell out. I looked up to see the chimera biting Ed's arm.

"You like that kitty? Go on, get a good TASTE!" Ed yelled, kicking the chimera in the chin, knocking it out.

"Ah.. Your arm and leg... A brother trapped in amor. I see, it's all becoming clear now." The priest said as Ed took off his cloak revealing his automail arm. I stared horrified at it, both his right arm and left leg were automail. "You did it, didn't you? The one thing that even the most novice alchemist knows is strictly forbidden!" I heard the priest say. _So they did it, didn't they? Human transmutation? And the price... it was Al's body and Ed's arm and leg...? How awful. It must've been painful, going through all that..._ I thought, looking sadly at Ed's limb.

"Why don't you come down here and try me?! I'll show you really quick who the real novice is!" Ed threatened.

"Rose this the price of their sin, these fools attempted human transmutation. The greatest taboo for any alchemist! In their erogance, they tried to bring someone dead back to life!" Cornello said, ignoring Ed. Now this got me mad, and I'm not one to get mad easily. His words stun, both the brothers and I. The words hurt like a ton of bricks. How could he say something like that, especially through what they've been through? Sure they made a mistake, but that doesn't mean he could just tell them off like that!?

"H-how dare you talk to them like that! You're no better-"

"Hinata! It's ok.." Ed told me, interrupting my speach.

"B-but.." I started. It just wasn't right for him so say those things to the brothers, he needed to know...

"I told you, it's ok." Ed said, giving me a reassuring smile, though I could see sadness behind that smile.

"Take a good look Rose, this is what happens when you try to bring someone back to life, is this what you want?" Ed asked.

"So this is the great Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. Not even half a man. Hell, not even half a boy." The priest said.

"And what about you!? You're just a phony who can't even do anything without the philosopher's stone!" Ed retorted.

"We just want you to hand over the stone before you get hurt." Al spoke up.

"Don't be absurd. Why, so you can use it for yourself, please! If you fools are so eager to play gods then perhaps I should sent you to meet him!" The priest said as he transmuted a gun. As he did, I felt a pang in my head like the last time. It hurt a lot, the pain intensified with every millisecond that passed by. I felt like screaming, I wanted the pain to go away, I could barely suppress the scream. All of a sudden, bullets were shot everywhere, a couple of them barely hitting me. As Cornello was about to shoot more bullets at us, I heard footsteps coming over towards me. Then Cornello fired and before I knew it, Ed had come in front of me, a wall infront of us.

"What are you doing sitting around like that?! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?" Ed asked me in a yelling voice. I looked up to him, my hands still holding my head from the pain. My eyes were watery by now, ready to scream from the excruciating pain.

Ed's POV

Don't be absurd. Why, so you can use it for yourself, please! If you fools are so eager to play gods then perhaps I should sent you to meet him!" The priest said as he transmuted a gun. Just as he started shooting, I transmuted a wall to defend us. I smirked at his pointless effort.

"Brother, where's Hinata?" I heard Al ask. I looked back towards them to see that she wasn't there. _That's strange, I thought she was here._ Now I was starting to get worried. What if she got caught in the blast? What if she died? Everyone's gonna have my head if that was true! I looked around hoping to find her. I heard a click just as I spotted her, she was sitting down on the ground in the open, her hands clenching her head. _What's that idiot thinking, sitting out in the open where she could get shot!?_

Just as Cornello was about to fire another round I ran over to Hinata standing in front of her, transmuting another wall just in the nick of time. _Phew, that was close!_

"What are you doing sitting around like that?! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?" I asked her. I turned around to see her looking at me with teary eyes. She was still clenching her head but her body was covered with cuts and scrapes, blood gushing out of some of the wounds. I couldn't help but worry about her. I mean, what was I suppose to feel? Happy that she's hurt? Just then her eyes closed and her arms fell down to her sides, her body falling towards the ground. I ran over to her to see if she was ok.

"Hey! Hinata, you ok? Hinata? Hinata! Wake up!" I got my index and middle fingers and pulled them over to her neck, checking for a pulse. **Ba-bump. Ba-bump... Ba-bump.** _Phew, what a relief, she's not dead._ I thought. I looked over to Al to see that he and Rose were still behind the wall I first created before rushing over to Hinata, though there were a couple of holes in them from all the bullets._ I gotta think of something, if this drags on any longer than we'll be in danger_. I picked up Hinata and put her on my back, this way I can still use my arms, even if it's not that well. Running over to where the door was, I saw that Al picked Rose up bridal style and ran after me. Kicking the door open, we ran down the hall and away from where we were. As we made a turn we saw about a dozen men blocking our way.

"That's far enough." One of them said. "What are you gonna do kids, you're unarmed and outnumbered." Another one said. "Look, just come quietly, we don't want to fight you." A third man said. _Since I can't use my hands to transmute something then I guess I'll have to kick them out of my way! _As we neared them I jumped up and kicked some of them, sending them flies. Al kicked the other ones. I looked back over my shoulder to see whether Hinata was ok, she seemed to be ok.

Running off, we made our way to a two-way turn, happy that no one was there. We stopped as neared the turns, Rose in Al's arms and Hinata on my back. As I walked closer to Al, he let Rose down.

"Al, can you hold Hinata for me? I got to go do something," I said with a smirk on my face. "it's time to let everyone know who they're really following." I continued, the smirk still on my face. I turned my back towards Al, letting him take Hinata off my back and into his hands. Once he was holding her, I walked to the right side of the hall while the three went the other way.

Hinata's PoV

"-tell me what I need to know and I'll be on my way, or we could get the military involved." I heard someone say though couldn't exactly make out who it was. My head was still hurting as well as the rest of my body. I could feel a warm liquid running down my cheek, the spot where the liquid was coming from stung and ached. The loud talking only made my head hurt more. _Can't they be quieter?_ I wondered.

"Grr... **Sigh**. Ask your questions." I heard another voice, though this one sounded a bit deeper than the other's. I slowly opened my eyes only to see the sky. My eyes stung from the sudden lightness, but I ignored the pain and tried to remember what happened. Slowly, it all came back to me. Where I was, what I was doing, what happened, about Ed and Al, the phony priest, Rose... It all came back.

I slowly turned my head to my left to see a armoured body, beside the armor sat a girl with brown hair and a white dress. _Al...? Rose...?_ I looked back up to the sky, not remembering every being here.

"W-where...w-where a-am I-I-I?" I asked no one in particular. I knew that we were in Leore, but I didn't know exactly where. The last place I last remember was at Cornello's place, but the room was kinda dark and looked pretty empty. This place, it looked like we were on top of a roof or something.

"You're alright." I heard a female voice say, which I guessed was Rose's. The two figures I saw earlier were now sitting beside me staring at me worriedly. The were just who I thought they were, Rose and Al.

"We're ontop of Cornello's place. After you fainted, we escaped from that room and came up here, though Ed went back into Cornello's office to reveal to every who he really is using the radio." Al explained.

"Because with each miracle I can attract new believers to the order. Believers who would lay down their lives for my sake, I'm slowly building an army of an alligiance of holy warriors unafraid to die. In a few more years, I'll be ready to unleash this mindless swarm upon the world. And I'll use the stone to tear this country apart. Who knows, I might ever carve up a slice for you. Hahahaha." I heard Cornello say. "Hahahaha!" Ed laughed along with Cornello. "Yeah! Wait, why are you laughing about!?" "I knew it, you really are a novice, aren't you?" _So that's what he was planning all along...? The poor people..._ I sat up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head and the rest of her body.

"How long, how long has that been on!?"

"From the start. Your believers heard every word."

"How could you, you'll pay early for this!"

"Sorry not today!"

"See Rose? He's been lying to you, lying to everyone from the start. He doesn't care about this countries wellfare, all he cares about is himself." Al told her. I tried sitting up, only to have Al come over and reach out his hand for me to take.

"Do you need help?" He asked. I nodded slowly, not wanting my headache to become worse. I took his hand and he genty pushed me up onto my feet. Stumbling, Al caught me and lifted me up into his arms making me blush.

"You're still not quite well enough to walk on your on so I'll carry you, ok?" I nodded again looking down on my knees, feeling bad because it seemed like I was being a bother.

XxXxXx

"And what about the stone?" Al asked.

"It was a phony just like him." Ed replied depressingly. "Oh..." Was all Al could say.

"I'm sorry, Al. For a while tere I thought we'd really found a way to get your body back." Ed said. I smiled at him. _He really is a nice guy, isn't he?_

"So how are you doing? You startled us, with you fainting and all." Ed asked me, concern written all over his face though he tried not to show it. I was about to tell him that I was ok when I heard Rose's voice.

"Give me the philosopher's stone!" I heard Rose yell out. As Al turned his body a bit, I could see Rose standing a couple of feet away from us with a gun in her hands, she was trembling.

"Like I was just saying, it was a fkae, it wasn't real. Besides, it's shattered now." Was Ed's response.

"Liar! You wana keep it for yoursef, don't you!? So you can use it on your bodes, that's right! and so you can use it to bring your mother back again!" Rose said. _Rose..._ I looked over at Ed, his face showed sorrow, anger, and a couple of other emotions. He looked as if he was going to cry.

"You shut up! People don't come back Rose, not ever. Not Ever..." He told her.

"But he promised me, he said that if I believed he would..." Rose said, falling to her knees. Ed and Al started walking off. "That faith was all I had left, what am I supposed to believe in now!? Tel me what to do, please..." Rose begged, tears falling down her face.

"I can't tell you that, you have to figure it out. Stand up and walk, keep moving forward. You have two good legs so use them, you're strong enough to choose your own path." Ed told her.

XxXxXxXx

I sat in my seat with Ed to my right, Al was seated in front of us. We were currently on a train, heading off to report to Colonel Roy Mustang. I was still blushing furiously from earlier. The memory still in my head.

_FLASHBACK_

_We were walking away from Leore and towards the train station to head over to Central. Well atleast Ed and Al were walking, I was still being carried by Al from my injuries earlier. All around us were people staring at us curiously, some were whispering, other's were making jokes. We could hear them talking about us._

_"Who are they?" "I don't know but it seems like they're carrying that injured girl somewhere." "Do you think that they're kidnapping her or something?" I don't know but the little guy doesn't look like someone who would do something like that." "Don't tell me that that armored guy is forcing them to go along with him!?" "I don't know but that could be a possiblity." "Do you think we should call the police." "Yeah maybe."_

_"Are they street performers?" "I'm not sure but they sure do look like it. But wait, why is the armored man carrying the injured girl?" "Maybe they're helping her because she's injured?" "Maybe... What if they're kidnapping her?" "I'm not sure..."_

_"Isn't that little guy cute?" "Yeah but what about the girl and the armored guy?" "I don't know, the girl does look cute but the armored guy looks scary." "Is he their father?" "I'm not sure, he could be their brother or he could be a kidnapper." "You're right, he could be. Wait! What if he's kidnapping her and the little guy, or what if he's forcing the little guy to help him kidnap her!?" "I don't know but he could be just helping her." "Yeah but wouldn't he just take her to the hospital if he's helping her? Why would he be going to the train station?" "You're right, why? Should we do something about it?" "Yeah maybe we should."_

_We could hear the people murmur. With every whisper, we became more uneasy. I guess people would mistaken that someone carrying an injured girl would be a kidnapper... We walked for a couple more minutes until Ed had had enough and snapped. He turned towards us and held his arms out. 'Huh?'_

_"Here!" Was all he said. Again huh?_

_"What are you doing brother?" Al asked confused at what his brother was planning._

_"Give her to me, I'll carry her. This way they won't think we're kidnapping her or something, and we'll also get a bit less attention this way." Ed told us. I guess all those people whispering got to him. Especially the ones about the kidnapping me and the 'little guy' or 'kid' comments too._

_"I guess you're right..." Al said despressingly, gently putting me in Ed's arms. This made me blush even harder. I don't know why but I felt like fainting, wait I do know why. It was because Ed was the one carrying me. Sure being carried by Al made me blush too, but Ed had an actual phyisical body and he actually looked like a boy. _

_"Hey, you ok? Your face is all red." Ed stated. I looked up to his face, my pearly lavender eyes locked with his golden ones. 'Bad idea!' This only made me blush even more so then before, if that was even possible. I was on the verge of fainting, though lucky the trains whistles got my mind off of the situation. I could feel the wind blowing in my face, Ed screaming for Al to hurry or we'll be late. It felt a bit bumpy but I didn't mind, they had done so much for me that I didn't care whether it was bumpy or that my body was still aching. I smiled. For the first time in years, I was smiling a real smile._

_End of Flashback_

I looked over to Ed, then Al. That's when it hit me! I almost forgot what I wanted to do.

"U-Um... E-Ed?" I said. He looked at me before saying "Yeah?"

"C-can y-you sit w-w-with A-Al please? T-t-t-there's s-s-something I w-w-want t-to d-d-do..." I asked him. He first gave me a confused look before doing as I told him and sitting with Al.

"C-c-can y-you m-m-move a-a bit c-c-closer to each o-o-other?" I asked. They did as I said, though slowly.

"What was it tha-" Ed was cut off by me hugging him. I was hugging the two, hugging them because i felt I should. I had wanted to do it earlier after i heard about their past, but the timing was never right. "Ah...what are you doing...?" Ed asked. I looked up to the two of them, tears in my eyes. A blush on my face, as well as Ed's but his wasn't as big as mine.

"W-why are you crying!?" The two asked, worried.

"B-because... the two of you...you..." I couldn't finish my sentence. I could feel my tears sliding down my cheek, though I didn't bother wiping them away.

"We what?" The two asked.

"You must've been in so much pain... I'm sorry..." I apologized.

"W-what are you sorry about?" Ed question, taken aback by my words.

"Yeah, it's not like it's your fault that that happened, we're the ones that were stupid enough to do it not you... We..."

"We should be sorry..." Ed continued for Al. I could hear the grief in their voices.

"We're sorry... We're sorry..." Al apologized, tightening the hug by the slightest.

"It's ok, you can let it out...it's okay to cry once in a while, to let all your burdens out..." I told them. We sat there like that for a couple of minutes, well they sat, I was still hugging them.

"Mommy are they alright?" I heard a child say. _I forgot...we're on a train with people. And I'm...we..._ I let go of them and sat back down on my saeat as fast as I could. I could fell my face burning, I felt faint, ready to fall into sleep. Trying to get my mind away from the hug, I looked over to Ed and Al. Although I couldn't quite see his face because his bangs were covering most of it, I could see that it was red. Thise made me even more embarased. I looked down to my knees, letting my bands and strads cover my face so no one can see it._ I hope that they're not mad at me..._

~~~EXTRA~~~

"Maybe that's where her State Alchem-" The door flung open revealing a military soldier.

"Well hello there Colonel! I heard that you were having a metting with the Fullmetal and Gentle Fist Alchemist... AND I JUST HAD TO COME AND SEE IT FOR MYSELF!" The military soldier yelled while flexing his muscles.

"Huh?" Ed looked at the military soldier stupidified as well as kinda terrified, not to mention surprised.

"So it was true. You must be the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric! It is a real honor to meet you. You are a true specimen, like myself!" The military soldier said stripping his shirt off and then going to shake hands with Al.

"My name is Alex Louis Armstrong, I'm the Strong Arm Alchemist!" Alex said, shaking Al's hand.

"I-it's not me!" Al told him, panicking. Alex looked confused and was about to say something when everyone pointed towards Ed. Alex looked over to Ed, who was glaring daggers at him. He rushed over to Ed with his arms wide open and hugged him. **Crack. Crack. Crack.** Ed's crushed bones could be heard all across the room. Ed waved his one free arm in the air, while screaming for Alex to let go. Hinata rushed over towards the two, trying to hold Alex's arm so he could drop Ed.

"Oh and who are you? Wait don't answer! You're the Gentle Fist Alchemist aren't you?" Alex asked. That when Hinata realized her mistake. Her face paled and her eyes widened as Alex picked her up and hugged her and Ed.

"It's a real honor to meet the both of you!" Alex told them. The two yelled for help and struggled to get out of his hold, but to no luck. Soon Al joined in trying to help the two out with Roy right behind them. No matter how much they tried, Alex wouldn't stop hugging them.

**Sigh.** "I guess it's up to me." **Click. Bang. Bang. Bang.** Came the voice of a certain female officer, followed by the sound of a gun being shot. Soon all activity seized and nothing could be heard. "It seems I missed." The woman stated plainly. Right in the middle of the room stood the five, shaking. At the wall infront of them and the woman there were holes, a bullet in each hole. "Now, let go of them or the next shots won't miss." The woman coldly warned Alex. He did as she asked without hesitation and set them down.

"What the hell Lt.! You almost killed us!" Roy yelled at Riza. She just stood there unaffected by that fact.

"They asked for help, so I helped them." Was her only reply. From that day forward, they made sure to never piss off the Lt. and also to becareful of what they say around her, for they feared it'll be their last day.

~~~EXTRA~~~

"Who are these guys? Are they street performers?" "Maybe, but why are they carrying an injured girl to the train station?"

"What do you think they're doing with that girl?" "I'm not sure, maybe they're kidnapping her?"

"Is the armored guy their father?" "I dont know, maybe?"

"Isn't that girl cute?" "Yeah she is."

"That guy sure is tall." "And what about the guy guy? Doesn't he look cute?"

"He's so...**SHORT**..." _3...2...1..._

"AHHH! WHO'S A SHORTIE! COME HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE! DAMMIT!"Ed yelled, running over to the people and attacking them. One by one the poeple were flung in the air and dropped to the ground. Al layed down Hinata and left to Ed's side, trying to calm him down.

~~~EXTRA~~~

Hinata looked over to Ed, and then Al. That's when it hit her! She totally forgot about what she wanted to do.

"Um... E-Ed? Can you s-sit w-with Al please?" She asked Ed. He just looked at her confused at first, but then did as she asked. He went over and sat with Al just as she instructed, but just when he was about to ask her what she wanted to do... He was on Al's lap, his head bleeding. In Hinata's hand was a frying pan (where did she get that from?!), a bit of Ed's blood on it. Next she neared Al, then hit him on the head with it too.

"How could you just pick me up like that without permission!? You know how embarrassing that was? I'm not some luggage that you can just pick up and carry, I'm a person! Not what am I gonna do, what if Naruto saw me, or my family?! You know how much trouble I'd be in!? WAAAH! You guys are so mean!" Hinata said.

"And don't get me started on your bodies! How could you just transmute a human soul!? When we get to Central, I'm gonna punish the two of you, GOT IT!?" She yelled at them. The two hugged, trembling in fear. Their only thought was _'She's just like teacher...!_

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! Oh and reviews are always welcome! The more reviews I get, the faster I update!**


	4. Meeting Selim and Talking Chimera

**Hey guy! So here's chapter 3 of The Gentle Fist Alchemist! I was beginning to lose inspiration from writing this until I saw the reviews and read the story Daughter of Compassion, and that really inspired me to finish this chapter and continue on! :D So anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'll try to update as soon as I can! Oh and I put up a poll, so if you want to vote for who you want Hinata to end up with then vote!**

**Actions**

Singing

"Normal talk"

_Thinking_

* * *

**Knock Knock**

"Come in." I opened the door to the Fuhrer's office. There sat Fuhrer King Bradley by his desk, papers in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Ah, Gentle Fist, please come in and have a seat." The Fuhrer gestured towards the seat infront of his desk.

"S-sir!" I responded and bowed. I made my way over to the chair in front of his desk and sat on there, waiting for him to talk. By body tense and slightly shivering, my arms on my knees, barely able to keep from trembling.

"Don't be so tense, it's not like I'm gonna do anything. I called you here to ask you a favor."

"A-a f-favor? M-m-me?" I asked, unbelievingly. It was the first time someone asked me a favor, so I was surprised.

"Right! You see, my son Selim has wanted to meet you and Fullmetal for a while now. Since Fullmetal is so busy, I had thought that maybe I could ask you instead. He's been begging me to invite you over, he's a big fan of the two of you." The Fuhrer told me, laughing. I looked at him unbelievingly, someone was actually a fan of mine? Not to mention it's the son of THE Fuhrer King Bradley.

"Is that a no?" I heard the Fuhrer say. _Ah! I can't believe it, how could I just not answer his question! I must have been really rude just now, I hope I didn't offend him or make him mad or anything..._

"I-i-it'd be an h-honor t-to pay avisit to your s-son, s-sir!" I replied.

"Ah, wonderful! My son would be most please. Now just let me finish this up and then we'll be on our way!" The Fuhrer said cheerfully.

_He's going with me?_ I thought. I couldn't let him go through all that trouble to escort me to his home, it wouldn't be right.

"P-please s-sir, you d-don't have to g-go t-through all that trouble just to e-e-escort m-me to your h-house. Please, I-I c-can find my own way t-there, you have l-lots of work to d-do, i-it w-wouldn't feel right if s-someone l-like myself were to t-take your precious time for s-something l-like this." I pleaded.

"Don't worry about it, it just gives me a reason to have a break from my work. All this pile of sheets have been weighing on me, plus I'm guarded 24/7 so it'll be nice to get a break. And besides, I'd love to see how my son is doing so don't worry about it." The Fuhrer reassured me. _Eh?_ _Well I guess it is hard managing things all day, I should know since I'm a heiress to a clan..._

"I-if y-you say so, s-sir..." The Fuhrer is much nicer than I thought he was.

XxXxXxXxX

_Wow, this place is big! _I thought. We were currently in the living room sitting on the couches, Fuhrer Bradley and Mrs. Bradley on one couch and me on the other in front of them. I looked around, everywhere I looked it was lovely.

"I'm sorry to make you wait but Selim should be back from school any minute." Said Mrs. Bradley.

"A-Ah, n-no it's ok, d-don't w-worry about i-it." I told her.

"My such a caring and earnest girl you are. Tell me, what made you want to be in the military? You're so young and innocent, I wouldn't have guessed someone like you would be in a place like the military." Mrs. Bradley said.

"A-a-ah, w-w-well... W-When I-I was little, I-I-I've always wanted to j-join t-the military and h-help the weak. P-p-people h-have told me t-that I-I w-was pretty good at a-alchemy and a-at m-martial arts, they said t-that w-with all t-the wars g-going o-on, I'd be a g-g-great h-help to p-people. N-not t-to mention t-that I know about m-medicine and s-some m-medical alchemy... At f-first I t-thought t-that someone as young as me w-would never be a-able t-to join the m-military, but when I-I h-heard that there w-was a 12-year-old b-boy i-in the military, I-I thought t-that i-if he can d-do it then s-so can I-I." I lied.

I almost laughed at how much I lied. As if my family would ever tell me I'm good at something, I was a failure at everything. Well, not exactly everything, the only thing I didn't fail at was cleaning. My father had even moked me about it telling me how I'd make a great housewife, which was an insult to a Hyuga. Ever since my mother died, he had stopped hanging around me, only being near me when he had to. My step-mother did everything she could to banish me from the clan.

"Oh I see. That sounds just like Selim, he wants to learn alchemy and join the military to help out his dad. He's such an earnest and caring boy like you, always obeying his elders and helping whenever he can. As a mother, it's only typical to worry about my child." Fervour in Mrs. Bradley's voice as she said that, getting me out of my thoughts. I was just about to say something when I heard a door being opened, looking to the door I saw a child there. He came running in and to the Bradley's and hugged them, laughing while doing so.

"Mother, father, I'm back." He told them. The Fuhrer smiled and reached out his hand and patted the child's head. _Is that Selim?_

"Well, hello there son. I'd like you to meet someone, I know that you've been wanting to meet her for a while and asked her to come visit. Selim, meet Hinata Hyuga, the Gentle Fist Alchemist." The Fuhrer introduced me. I stood up and bowed to him before saying. "I-i-it i-is an honor t-t-to m-meet you, S-Selim."

"No way! You're _the_ Gentle Fist Alchemist? The second youngest State Alchemist and also the first female State Alchemist? I can't believe it!" Selim said, sparkles in his big round black eyes. As I stopped bowing, Selim rushed over to me and jumped up giving me a hug. This caught me off guard almost making me fall backwards.

"Do you think you could do alchemy for me or show me some of your fighting moves, please?" Selim asked me.

"Now Selim, I don't think it's very polite to ask her to do something and besides, don't you have some homework to do?" Mrs. Bradley said.

"Aw... But I need help with it and besides, I might not be able to see her again... Can't I just this once do my homework after I play?" Selim begged.

"You know I can't let you do that, Selim." Mrs. Bradley told him. I looked down at him, feeling a bit sorry for him. I wished I could do something for him, he seems like the kind of kid that would always do what his parents tell him. He kinda reminded of her sister a bit. A smile formed on my lips just thinking of her, she was so cute and looked so innocent. The same being with Selim. He was too cute and I had to resist the urge to crush him in a bear hug. I watched as he pouted, which made him look even more adorable. _I gotta get my mind off of his cuteness and concentrate! Maybe I can help him with his homework? That would pass the time and it'll probably be faster. _

"U-um... S-S-Selim? How a-about w-we make a p-promise? I-If you g-get y-your homework done, I-I'll s-show you s-some alchemy. A-and d-don't worry, I-I'll h-help you with i-it if you w-want."

"R-really!? I can't believe it, that's so cool, you're actually gonna help me with my homework and show me some alchemy!" Selim yelled excitedly. He jumped up and into my arms hugging me tightly. I hugged him back and a couple of seconds later, I put him down on the ground. Right after I set Selim down someone came in and told the Fuhrer something, I think it was about som kind of crisis. The Fuhrer got up and was about to leave when Selim stopped him, asking him whether he could stay atleast a little bit longer.

"I'm sorry Selim, but I got to get back to work." The Fuhrer told him solemnly. Selim only pouted and let his father go, telling him goodluck. We watched as the Fuhrer left, leaving behind a pouting Selim. Though his mood soon changed when he remembered that I was here. He took hold of my hand and started dragging me somewhere, telling Mrs. Bradley that he was going to study.

We arrived in a big room, which I guessed was Selim's. There were rugs on the floor, a big desk in one corner and some drawers beside it, a king sized bed on the otherside of the corner with a night stand right by it and a light on it. Away from the bed and close to the door we were standing in was another door, which I guessed was his closet. There was still a lot of room left even with the rest of the furniture and windows. I wasn't surprised that he had a big room, but I was surprised at the size of it.

"So the question I'm stuck on is #9 in math." Selim told me. I walked over to him and sat beside him, looking over his shoulder at the question he was pointing at.

XxXxXxXxXx

Normal PoV

"That reminds me, Ed do you remember that time we went to Leore?" Al asked his brother.

"Yeah... why?" Ed questioned.

"Remember when that chimera attacked you and Hinata stepped in the way and hit it?" Ed thought back to that time. If he remembered clearly, Hinata had used some kind of technique on it while yelling out something. And her eyes, they looked strange. There was also veins popping out of her temples, too. She had told him that she would explain it later, but never did.

"Oh yeah... she had used some kind of technique back there." Ed remembered.

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like that. At first I thought she was just striking it but then I realized that it was something else." Al told.

"Yeah I agree. It looked like some kind of fighting technique but at the same time, not. The blue thing that shot out of her palm didn't look normal." Ed said.

"A blue thing that shot out of her palm? My, that sure is strange." Came a voice away from them. Shou Tucker was heading out of the library when he heard the two talking, wanting to find out he came back to them. He had never heard of a technique like that, and had wanted to find out.

"Mr. Tucker!" Al yelled out, startled.

"Oh my, I didn't scare you guys, did I?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"No, don't worry about it. You just caught us by surprise, that's all."

"Yeah, we had thought that you already left and it kinda startled us to hear you."

"Ah... well I do apologize for that. Now what about this technique you guys were talking about? I might be able to figure it out if I know more about it." Tucker told them.

"Ah, well... When we were in Leore, there was this thing that attacked us and our friend stepped in and used some kind of technique on it." Ed explained.

"I see. Tell me, what's your friends name?" Tucker asked.

"Hinata, Hinata Hyuga." Al told him.

"Wait, did you say Hyuga?" Tucker questioned.

"Yeah, why?"

"I think I've heard of that last name before. If I remember clearly, it was a story that my mother had told me when I was younger. Would you guys like me to tell you about it?" Tucker asked.

"Sure!" The two replied.

"I might leave out some stuff or might get it wrong a bit since I haven't heard it in a while, so I apologize for that. Let's see, the story was about a woman and two men. The woman was from a very prostegious family and it was nearing her twenthieth birthday, so her family had decided for her to marry. So they arranged a marriage for her and one of their closest friends, who were also very rich. The head of that house had agreed to it and let his eldest son to marry her, who happened to be twenty-three years old. Everyone agreed to it except the princess and a man who was her best friend, but the princess never said anything. As the wedding neared and neared, the princess's best friend had come up with a plan and was putting it into action." Tucker stopped trying to think back to what happened next.

"He was planning to gain immortality for himself and the princess, so that the two could live forever. He never told anyone about his plan, and as the wedding was coming closer, so did the completion of his plan.

When the time for the princess's wedding arrived, the man sat in one of the benches in the front waiting for the right time to put his plan into action. As the priest said "Are there any objections" the princess's best friend stood up and said "I object". He marched towards the couple and took the bride away from the groom saying "She belongs with me and me alone, not any other man. All this time I have been griefly watching as she was getting prepared for the wedding, that is until now! I will not let anyone else touch the princess! We will live together for eternity, with no one to disrupt us". As he said those words, a bright light had erupted from their feet and the place shook a bit.

The groom didn't want to let go of his bride, for he loved her dearly. As the plan was seconds from completion, the groom ran towards the princess and pushed the man away from her. Just then, the light surround the two as the groom embraced the princess. They watched in horror as all the people choked and died. Then all of a sudden, the light engulfed them and they were knocked out. When they came to, all the people in the palace were dead."

"They all died?" Al asked. He wondered how all it was possible for the people to just die like that, and that light. Tucker said that there was a light that emitted from the ground, something that sounded a lot like alchemy.

"But that's just a story, it's not like it's real. And besides, what does that have to do with the Hyuga's?" Ed said. Ed didn't seem to believe the story one bit, the immortality thing just nonsense.

"Because the princess's name was Ai Hyuga." Tucker informed them. This got their attention. They wondered whether the story somehow involved Hinata or one of her family members.

"No way! But wait, what happened to the two?" Al asked. He really wanted to know what happened to them.

"It's said that they hid away and lived together, alone. Atleast that's what the couple that told my mother about the story said."

"Do you think we should ask Hinata about this?" Al asked Ed.

"Maybe, though I doubt it's real." Ed replied. He really didn't believe in the story Tucker told him, though it did seem strange to him. How was it possible to gain immortality? Well that didn't really seem impossible since they were after a legend, the philosopher's stone. The more he thought about the story, the more he started to believe it was real. The ending of the story sounded similar to what happened in Xerxes. He wasn't sure, but he was starting to think that the two were somehow related.

"Hey Mr. Tucker?"

"What is it?" He asked.

"Did only the people in the palace die?"

"No, it's said that the whole country was left with no one alive." Tucker answered. _Could the story be true? Maybe there was some kind of connection between what happened in Xerxes and what happened the story._ Ed thought. Now he really was curious about this whole thing. He needed to get to the bottom of it, and fast.

"Well I'm off." Tucker told them, getting up and leaving.

"Come on Al, we should be getting back to studying."

XxXxXxXx

Hinata's PoV

Selim was all done with his homework and now we were heading outside so I could show him some alchemy. He's so excited about that that he was jumping up and down, with big sparkles in his eyes. As one of the servants were about to open the door for us, I remembered that I didn't have any chalk or anything to draw the transmutation circle with.

"U-um... S-Selim? Do you h-have a-any chalk I can use to draw a t-transmutation circle w-with?" I asked. We stopped walking as he looked at me.

"I'll be right back!" He told me as he ran up the stairs and into his room, I guessed. He sure can be really cute! I stood there for close to a minute when he came running my way with chalk in his hands, a big grin on his face. _Cute!_

"Here, I got you some chalk!" He told me as he handed the chalk to me.

"T-thank you, S-Selim!" I bowed thanking him. We headed out outside and into the front yard on the cement walkway. I began to draw a transmutation circle, when I was done I transmuted a little train. I looked up to him with a smile to see that he was also smiling brightly.

"Wow! That's so cool!" He exclaimed. I picked up the train and handed it to him.

"W-would you like t-to h-have this, Selim?" I asked. He took the train from my hands and examined it joyfully, then looked up at me saying. "I can really have this?" Which I nodded happily. I transmuted a couple of stuff before stopping, asking him if he wanted me to show him a couple of defense moves.

"I'd love to learn some defense moves!" He told me. This whole time he had sparkles in his eyes, making him look really cute. A couple of times I had to stop myself from hugging him, which was pretty hard with his cuteness. I got up and into a fighting stance, deciding to go into a quite popular one. My left arm out and my right arm in by the side of my chest, my left leg out and firmly planted to the ground and right leg back both bending a bit. I wasn't quite used to this stance, since I always used a different kind of stance, but I tried my best.

"T-try t-to do this s-stance." I told him, and he did. For his first try it was pretty good, but there were a couple of mistakes. Getting out of my stance, I headed over to him to try to fix his stance. Once I was done I told him that I was gonna try something.

"Now Selim, I'm gonna lightly kick your left leg to see if you can keep yourself from falling. Try and hold down your weight so that you won't easily fall, but don't hold down all your weight on your legs." I said, he only nodded. I did as I said and gently hit his leg making sure not to hurt him, he didn't falter. I tried again but with a bit more force, this time his leg shook. I tried again with the same force as last time, he didn't waver this time. I did this a couple more times until I thought that we should take a break, well more like him.

"W-why d-don't we take a b-break now?" I asked.

"Aw... can't we do this for a couple more minutes?" He begged.

"I-I-I t-think that it's b-best that we t-take a little b-break. Besides, I-I w-was think that I c-could t-teach you s-something." I told him. Hearing me tell him that I was gonna teach him something made his eyes sparkle again. We sat down and rested for a couple of minutes.

"A-are you all rested u-up?" I asked. He nodded his head and got up. I got up too and came closer to him. Turning my back to him and pulling my hair to my left, I touched the back of my neck

"T-this s-spot right here is u-used t-to k-knock people out, t-that is i-if you hit it hard e-enough." I told him, pointing to the spot I had been touching a couple of seconds ago. I wanted to show him this spot so that if anyone tried to hurt him, he could just hit that spot to knock them out.

"N-now I-I don't ever want y-you t-to actually hit s-someone t-there unless you really h-have to, l-like i-if someone is k-kidnapping you or trying t-to h-hurt you, ok?" I said. I turned around to see him nodding. I proceeded to tell a couple of other pressure points that he could hit if he ever was in trouble, though not ones that could kill a person.

It was getting late by now and the sun was starting to set. A car came into the front, a man with blonde hair stepping out of it and heading towards us. By now Selim and I had stopped and were now looking at him.

Normal PoV

"Hey I'm looking for Hinata Hyuga, is she here?" Havoc asked.

"A-ah, y-yes...that w-would b-be me." Hinata replied. He stopped walking and examined her. She was a couple of centimeters taller than Edward, wore a lavender and white sweater with blue plants, her hair long and midnight blue, eyes light examined her a bit longer until he spotted something, something that made him kinda drool and blush slightly. Her chest was the thing he landed on. Being the kinda perverted guy he was, couldn't not notice it. Her face and height told him that she was somewhere around fourteen-maybe fifteen, but her body looked more to be around sixteen to eighteen.

"I-is s-something wrong?" Hinata asked, getting him out of his trance. A big pink blush plastered on her face, the cause of it being Havoc's staring.

"No, nothing! Tell me, how old are you?" Havoc asked, slightly leaning closer to her. She looked up to him, confused at why he asked her that.

"I-I-I'm f-f-fourteen, w-why?" She asked him, her blush deeping a bit.

"So you really are fourteen after all. With the way you look, I would have though you were around sixteen, seventeen." He answered, which made her blush even more. "Well anyway, follow me. Don't worry, I came here to pick you up. After this, we're headed to pick up the Elric's." He explained to her, seeing the worry in her face.

Selim, who had stayed quiet this whole time, started pouting. He didn't want her to go yet and was sad about it. Hinata looked to him, seeing his pouting face. She smiled at this, no one had ever wanted her to go away and that touched her. She knelt down and put her hands on his shoulder.

"I-i-it s-seems like I-I have to go n-now, S-Selim. B-but d-don't worry , I-I'll make sure t-to c-come back and visit a-again when I-I c-can." Hinata promised him. This seemed to cheer him up a bit. She stood up and together with Havoc, began walking towards his car. Turning around, she waved bye to Selim saying "And please tell you mom that I said bye and that it was nice meeting her". He waved back to Hinata telling her that he will.

XxXxXxXxXx

Hinata's PoV

"Hey chief, your ride has arrived." Mr. Havoc called out. We entered the house and to where Ed and Al were. As we entered the door to the library, we spotted Ed lying on the ground with a big white dog on him and a girl beside them.

"What are you up to down there, Ed." Havoc asked as we stared at the scene.

"Well, let's just say that I'm taking a little break from a long day of research." Ed replied, and started getting up.

"Well after all that, you must be dog tired." The man who was known as Shou Tucker said, making everyone laugh.

"Why don't you come back tomorrow?" He told them. The girl looked at Al joyfully saying "Are you really gona come again?" which Al relied "We'll play some more tomorrow." Ed, Al, and I headed out to the car while Mr. Havoc said something to Mr. Tucker. As we neared the car, Al remembered something.

"Ah, I almost forgot! Hey Hinata, do you know about the story of Ai Hyuga?" Al asked, making us stop. _Ai Huga? Do they mean about the legend?_

"If you're talking about the legend then yes. Why do you ask?" I replied.

"Well, it's just that she has the same last name as you... and well..." Al trailed off. This made me laugh. My mother had told me the story about her. When I first heard it, I had been wondering the same thing. When I asked my mom, she told me that it was a made up story that one of the Hyuga's wrote a long time ago. But I wondered how they knew about it, I thought that only my village and a couple of others new about it.

"I-it's j-just a story that was made up a l-long time ago by one of m-my a-ancestors. But h-how d-do you know a-about it?" I asked.

"We heard it from Mr. Tucker." Al replied.

"I-I s-see. T-tell me, did you t-think the story was true and if y-you d-did then why?" I asked. The two boys looked at each other, then at me.

"I thought that it was kinda true. I mean, wasn't there a rumor about Xerxes disappearing in one night? And well..." "Y-you t-thought that the t-two stories were r-related?" I finished for Al.

"Yeah..." Was Al's only reply.

"I-I guess anyone w-would t-think that. Haha. E-even if the s-story w-was true, it wouldn't have taken p-place there. It would h-have l-likely taken place i-in the hidden sun v-village."

"Hidden Sun Village? What kind of name is that?" Ed moked.

"T-the H-Hidden Sun Village was a very hot a-and bright village, s-some even say that it's the village o-of g-god. It was s-said t-that it died o-off because of t-the h-heat." Hinata said. "Wait...there was also that Celestial country..."

"Celestial?"

"Y-yes, the c-celestial c-country was said to be the most b-beautiful c-country in the world, t-the people t-there f-full of wisdom and strength, i-it was very p-prosperous t-too. I-it was also said t-that the country floated atleast a h-hundred feet above the g-gound, the v-village b-being named that because o-of a-all this. S-some p-people have also called it 'the c-country closest to heaven' and e-even 'the country of heaven' a-at t-times. It's said that t-the v-village was made up of crystals too.

A-all the people t-there were powerful and k-knowledgable, creating many t-things that haven't even been c-created today. They w-were e-even able to create t-technique's none have e-ever seen before. It was a-around a t-thousand y-years ago, I think, t-that the city d-disappeared i-in one night, never been s-seen since then. Many s-say t-that it went back to heaven, others say t-that it never existed, a-and there were a c-couple w-who believed that the p-people there died. I think t-that if the story was t-true, it would most l-likely have occured t-there." I told them.

"I see."

XxXxXxXxXx

"Y-y-your m-mother left two y-years a-ago?" I asked, shocked. When I had first come here I wondered why I never saw Nina's mom. I guess now I know, she left.

"Daddy says she went back to live at her parents house." Nina told us.

"It must get lonely with just you and your dad here in this big house, huh?" Al said, hint of sadness in his voice.

"Not really, Daddy's really nice and I've got Alexander here to play with too." Nina said, nodding her head and then hugging Alexander. "But lately daddy's been studying in his lab all day, I guess that that does make me feel a bit lonely." Nina continued, petting Alexander. I stared at her, knowing all-to-well how it felt to be lonely. When my mother died, it felt like my whole world fell apart. Sure, my father was there, but he paid no attention to me. I felt kinda sorry for her, she looked so lonely. I felt like doing something, I wanted to find a way to cheer her up. But when I thought I had come up with something, I heard Ed slam shut the book in his hands.

Ed got up and yawned while stretching, saying "My shoulders are killing me".

"Maybe you should try to move around some, brother." Al told him.

"Yeah that's not a bad idea Al." Ed said, grinning. "Hey, you mangy mutt!" Ed said, pointing at the dog, startling him. "Looks like you could use some exercise!"

"Let's go too, Nina." Al suggested, laughing a bit. Nina stared at Al for a bit but then smiled. This made me smile, she was just so cute!

Al and I watched as Alexander chased after Ed, Nina riding on Alexander's back. They kept that up until Ed transmuted his arm into some kind of cocodile mouth thing? Now the roles were switched with Ed chasing Alexander and Nina, which made me giggle. He sure did look silly, I had to admit that. The three seemed to be having lots of fun, which made me happy. Nina didn't look sad and depressed anymore, she looked happy and like she was having the time of her life now. _Cute!_

After the chasing, Nina had gone off of Alexander and now was sliding down Al's back. I had stayed back just watching them, I didn't want to spoil anything for them. Ed was running away from Alexander, who was chasing him. From what I had seen before, it seemed like Alexander liked jumping ontop of Ed. Speaking of jumping on top of Ed, Alexander did just that. I burst out laughing, something that I hadn't done in a long time. _Ed sure can be cute at times!_ I thought, not noticing what I had just said.

Soon I was dragged into the fun as well. I helped chase down Nina and Alexander, well, tried to, we never really were able to chase them down. Let Nina on my back and started running around laughing, Alexander licking my face non-stop. I gotta say, this has probably been the most funniest I had in years!

Without knowing it, a couple of hours passed by. Soon we settled down and decided to go inside. There we saw Mr. Tucker sitting by the table and decided to join them, by this time Nina and Alexander were wiped. We talked some and then left to go to our hotel, telling them goodbye before we did.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Hello, Mr. Tucker. Thanks for having us again." Al called out. I got a bad feeling about this, for some reason. This place became creepy all of a sudden, it felt like something was not right. And the lights, why were all of them off? Then there was the fact that no one came to the door, usually Nina and Alexander would already be here with us. None of this felt right for some reason.

We walked down the halls and into Mr. Tucker's lab. There knelt Mr. Tucker next to something.

"Mr. Tucker!" I heard Al say.

"There you are, so you are home."

"Yes. I did it, I finally did it. A chimera that understands human speech. Here, let me show you." Mr. Tucker said, kneeling back down to the chimera. "That person over there, that's Edward."

"That person...Ed...ward?"

"Yes that's very good, well done!" Mr. Tucker congradulated the chimera.

"That's amazing, it can actually talk." Ed said, kneeling down to the chimera also. For some reason, I got a weird feeling about all this. The chimera, it looked familiar some how. I don't know why but it did.

"Now I don't have to worry about losing my certification." Mr. Tucker said, standing up. I turned my gaze from the chimera unto Mr. Tucker, there was something suspicious going on. Where exactly was Nina and Alexander? Wouldn't they have come to greet us at the door? Why wasn't I sensing any life here besides the ones in this room? Why did the chimera look so familiar to me? Questions like that kept entering my mind,

"That person Edward?" The chimera said, tilting its head in confusion. "That person Edward. That person Ed...ward." The chimera kept saying. "Big brother Ed." Edward's eyes widened in shock, horror, and realization. I also stared at it with the same eyes. _Big brother Ed is what Nina calls him!_ I thought. It couldn't be, could it? Was that...?

"Mr. Tucker, when did you first get your state certification?"

"Let's see, it was two years ago."

"When did your wife leave you?"

"That was also two years ago..."

"I just have one more question for you, Nina and Alexander...where are they?!" Ed questioned. It seemed like Al had caught on now too. Mr. Tucker, who used his wife two years ago to make into a talking chimera, did the same thing but with Alexander and Nina this time. He actually turned his daughter and dog into a chimera! It wasn't right, how could someone do something like that, especially to their wife and daughter!? Poor Nina and Alexander, they still had a long life ahead of them.

It felt like my world crashed, almost like when my mother died though a bit different. I walked over to the chimera and knelt down beside it, putting my arms around its neck. Tears dripped down from my eyes and down my cheeks, I was shaking terribly. I just couldn't believe that something like this happened, something so horrible. If I was here earlier I might have been able to stop it. If I only knew sooner what Mr. Tucker was planning, maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't have turned out like this. Why didn't I realize it sooner?

I could feel my stomach turn, my eyes start stinging from crying. _If only I could go back in time, I could have stopped it! _I'm so stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

"I'm...sorry, I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry..." I repeated those words to the chimera. I must have looked pathetic right now. If my father was here, he would have probably told me how weak I was being from crying over something like this. Something so stupid, as he would put it. I could just hear his words echoing inside my head saying "your weak Hinata, and you'll always be. Your only a burden, always failing at everything you do. A cry baby, a child!". Even as I heard those words, I didn't care. I didn't bother acknowledging them like I would always, all I cared about was Nina and Alexander. Why did it have to happen to them? I would gladly take their place if it meant that they could live. It seemed to me like this kinds of things always happened when I'm around.

**Smack. Smack. Punch. Crack. Punch. **

I looked to where the noise was coming from, there I saw Ed beating Mr. Tucker up. I could see malice and hatred in his eyes, those eyes aimed at Mr. Tucker. I couldn't believe it, I was so focused on Nina and Alexander that I failed to notice what was going on around me. That I wasn't the only one grieving, that Ed and Al were too. I had to stop Ed before he did something he would regret in the future. Sure, Mr. Tucker turned his daughter and dog into a chimera, but that didn't give Ed a reason to try to kill him. Hatred only breeds more to hatred after all.

I stood up and ran over to Ed, holding his arm back in mid-air before he could get another hit.

"S-stop...please s-stop, E-Ed..." I whispered to him.

"Let go! This bastard deserves what's coming to him!" Ed yelled. I couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. He was really thinking of killing Mr. Tucker? I couldn't let that happen, I had to stop his somehow. So I did the only thing I could think of, I hugged him. More and more tears stinged my eye but I didn't care, I just wanted to stop all this, this...madness. Yes, madness! That's how it felt, Nina and Alexander getting turned into a chimera, Ed beating Mr. Tucker to a bloody pulp, Al just standing there watching everything, who wouldn't think it was madness?

"E-Ed...p-please stop!" I cried into his shoulder. At first he didn't do anything, then he looked down at my trembling form, his eyes softening.

"Hinata..." He let his fist down and to his side, turning to me. His eyes still showed hatred and malice towards Mr. Tucker, but it also was filled with other emotions too. Pain, sincerity, guilt, and more. I was still embracing him, I didn't have the strength to leave him. I needed comfort, I needed to hear that everything's going to be alright, I needed to hear that but I knew that nothing would. I knew I was being selfish, that the two were also greiving, I knew that I should be the one to be comforting them, but I couldn't. I could feel my legs buckle, my stomach turn. I was so close to falling down, but holding onto Ed helped me stand.

I'm so stupid! So weak, so dumb, so...so... Ah! I couldn't even say it! It felt like all this happened because of me, because I was here. I couldn't even save a little girl! Heck, I can't even take good care of myself! But Ed and Al, they're also sad... I have to do something, I have to say something to comfort them. But I'm scared. What if I make things worse like I always did? What if I only make them angrier? What if-

"Daddy... are you hurt? Daddy...?" I heard Nina's voice. My body froze when I heard her, I looked over to her with horror filled eyes. I needed to get away, get some fresh air. I knew that if I stay here any longer that I wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. I would break, I would burden the others. I had to get away from here, get away from them atleast for a bit. Not too far, just outside. I don't want anyone to see me cry, cry like that last time. I had promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore, atleast not like that. Not infront of everyone. But then again...what about Ed and Al? I'm sure they wanted to cry to, to just scream and cry and let it all out.

I let go of Ed, letting him do what it is that he wants to do. I didn't say anything, for if I did I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold myself back anymore. I watched as Ed kicked the state pocket watch out of Mr. Tucker's grasp, I watched as Al knelt down beside Nina and started apologizing non-stop. How Ed screamed, screamed because of everything. I could tell that he was on the verge of breaking down too.

I walked up to him slowly, my hand grasping his as I stood beside him. I smiled at him when he looked at me, though I'm sure that he could tell that my smile was strained. I let go of his hand and spread my arms wide open. He seemed to know where I was getting at because he hugged me at that very instant, crying in my shoulder like I had in his a few minutes ago. I hugged him back and let him cry on my shoulder, something that I knew he needed, a good cry. My smile soon faded into a frown as I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. I looked over to Al to see if he was alright, he was still apologizing to Nina for not stopping it and not being able to do anything to turn her back. I bit my lower lip, I had to keep myself from crying, I just had to.

XxXxXx

The rain clouds shades everything in sight, the rain tapping everything it touches. The cold raindrops kiss my face and wash away my tears, cooling my red swollen and sore eyes. The rain soaking my clothes making them cling tightly to my figure, my hair sticking tightly to my face and body. I sat up on the roof of Mr. Tucker's home, away from everyone. As I sat did I realise just exactly how lonely I was feeling, I've always felt. My eyes stung badly from all the crying that I had done just a couple of seconds ago, them puffy and still full of tears. As the rain tickled skin I parted my lips and began to sing, something that I only did with my mother, something that always comforted me, bring joy to my face as my mother and I would sing.

rokugatsu no uso me no mae no hontou 

sepia ni shimaikomu 

yorisou to ka nukumori to ka 

wakaranaku natteta 

"kimi wa hitori de heiki da kara... ne" to 

oshitsukete sayonara 

sono tagui no kiyasume nara 

kikiakita hazu na no ni 

nariyamanai youshanai omoidetachi wa 

yurushitekuresou ni mo nai 

me o tojireba ikioi wa masu bakari de 

toomaki de kimi ga warau 

ame wa itsuka yamu no deshou ka 

zuibun nagai aida tsumetai 

ame wa dou shite boku o erabu no 

nigeba no nai boku o erabu no 

yatto mitsuketa atarashii asa wa 

tsukihi ga jama o suru 

mukau saki wa "tsugi" ja nakute 

"sugi" bakari oikaketa 

nagusame kara kikkake o kureta kimi to 

urameshiku kowagari na boku 

sorosoro ka na tesaguri tsukareta hoho o 

kattou ga koboreochiru 

kako o shiritagaranai hitomi 

arainagashitekureru yubi 

yasashii hohaba de iyasu kizuato 

todokisou de todokanai kyori 

ame wa itsuka yamu no deshou ka 

zuibun nagai aida tsumetai 

ame wa dou shite boku o erabu no 

tsutsumarete ii ka na 

ame wa yamu koto o shirazu ni 

kyou mo furitsuzuku keredo 

sotto sashidashita kasa no naka de 

nukumori ni yorisoinagara

_Mother... I'm sorry... Nina... I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry, please forgive me...I'm sorry...I'm so so sorry...I'm...I'm sorry..._ I repeated those words in my head, hoping that they would forgive me somehow, that the pain would just go away. My eyes felt heavy and my body tired and sore, demanding for some sleep. I tried keeping awake but my body only protested. Soon, I was sleep on the cold roof of the Tucker's home, the rain pouring on my sleeping form.

* * *

**Remember to review because if you review, I update faster!**

**Well, got to go to bed now it's like midnight.** **Bye.**

**Oh and sorry if there are any errors.**


	5. The Fight With Scar

**Here's the next chapter! I know that this one short compared to my other chapters and sorry about that, I'll make sure that the next chapter is longer! I'm gonna start revealing more of Hinata's past starting next chapter so look forward to it. About the poll, it seems like Edward is ahead with 3 votes! Envy, Alphonse, and Ling second with 1 vote each, the rest have zero. Make sure to vote for who you want Hinata to end up with! Now, on with the story! Oh and tell me which Hinata you like better, the badass Hinata in the extras or the timid one in the story?**

_**"Mysterious Person"**_

"Normal talk"

_Thinking_

* * *

**_"So, what do you think? Is it her?"_**

**_"No, but she does look like her, I wouldn't be surprised if that was her daughter."_**

**_"Do you think we should tell Father?"_**

**_"No, it's better if we just keep an eye on her for now, no need to bother Father with such trivial things."_**

**_"You're probably right."_**

**_"Oh and one more thing, make sure to keep a good eye on her from now on. Fullmetal as well. Remember, he is a human sacrifice and for that we need him alive."_**

**_"Right, I'll make sure of it."_**

XxXxXx

Hinata awoke to the sound of footsteps. She yawned as she got up and stretched, not noticing the rain that was pouring down or the fact it was cold out. Her brain was still asleep and she couldn't remember where she was or how she got there, she walked over to the ledge of the roof to see someone exiting the building she was ontop of. The man wore a yellow coat and black and white pants, his hair was also white. She wasn't sure about how his face looked or if he wore anything else because she could only see his back from where she was. As she stared at him, she started to remember what had happened and where she was exactly. Soon the stranger was out of sight and Hinata had remembered everything. How she met Selim Bradley, how she met Nina, Alexander, and Mr. Tucker, Nina and Alexander turning into a chimera, and how she fell asleep in the rain... _Nina..._

Before she had time to mourn over Nina and Alexander, she realized something. Why was it so quiet? She was sure that Nina/Alexander and Mr. Tucker hadn't been taken away yet, and the fact that there was a complete stranger that had just walked out of the house. Had something happened?

Wasting no time, she jumped down from the roof and onto the ground, running towards the guards. As she neared them, she could see blood on the ground which was never a good sign. Reaching the guards, she saw that they were lying against the wall all bloody. In panic, she raced over to the closest guard, hoping that he was still alive and checked his pulse. Nothing. She ran over to the other guard and did the same, no pulse... What exactly happened here, who killed them? How could she just sleep while they got killed!? She sat down beside the guard, her form trembling. She wasn't able to save their lives... Just as she was about to cry, something struck her mind. _What about Nina/Alexander and Mr. Tucker...!?_

She got up and ran towards the house, hoping that they atleast were alright. She searched the rooms in the house not finding anything, that is until she reached the last room and kicked the door open. The sight that she saw was horrible, there lay Nina/Alexander and Mr. Tucker, a pool of blood beside them.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAA!" Hinata screamed as she put her hands on her cheeks and fell to the ground, landing on her knees. They're dead... They're dead...! They're dead! Why? Why did this happen to them, to her? They shouldn't have died! Why was she always so powerless to stop anything? Why was she so weak...so much of a failure! Why did she have to fall asleep? She could have stopped the death of them, she could've! She just had to fall asleep, didn't she!? Oh god did she feel so weak, so guilty, so...so pathetic!

Who would exactly want to kill them? Correction, who would want to kill Nina and Alexander? Who killed them and why? How she wanted to know, she knew that she shouldn't think about revenge but she was. She knew that revenge was never good, but she wanted to avenge them so much...

She shook her head, what was she thinking? It wasn't like her to think of revenge, she's always been against it so why was she seeking it? Maybe it was the throbbing pain in her head that was making her think such thoughts, or maybe it was the fact that she was cold? What ever it was, it must be affecting her. She should probably go find Ed and Al and see if they're alright, and also report the case to the higher-ups.

XxXxXx

Hinata was on her way to find the two brothers, haven reported the death of Nina and Alexander been done. She just hoped that nothing happened to the two, that they were safe and alright. Before she had left to search for the two, the Lt. Colonel had warned her about a man named Scar that was targeting State Alchemist and killing them. He had also told Hinata to be careful and that they'd join up with her and the brothers later. When she heard that, she almost had a panic attack. She was afraid that they might get killed or they were fighting him already. So in a hurry, she stormed off and now she was looking around for the two. She just hoped that she could find them soon.

XxXxXx

"Stop! Don't touch him! No, you can't! Stop it!" Al yelled out desperately. Just as Scar was about to kill Ed, a voice yelled out to Scar.

"Don't touch him!" Said the voice as a figure from the sky fell down onto to the ground, ready to strike Scar. Before the figure could hit him though, he was able to dodge the attack but just barely. A puff of smoke formed from where Scar was just a second ago, two figures inside the smoke. One of the figures was Ed laying on the ground, the other was a of a girl. Her eyes sharp and fierce and her body ready to strike if needed to.

"Who are you?" Scar interrogated.

"I'm Hinata Hyuga, the Gentle Fist Alchemist. Who are you and why are you after Ed?" Hinata questioned.

"It seems like today is my lucky day, god has put two Alchemist in my path." Scar said. Hinata wasn't sure what was going on, nor was she sure what he wanted, but she knew that whatever it was, it wasn't good. This was the man who murdered Mr. Tucker and Nina, who also murdered the guards that guarded them. Now he was after Ed and Al, wanting to kill them also. She wouldn't have that as long as she was alive, she would protect the two as it is her mission. She was tired of seeing people die, now she was determined to not let that happen, as long as she is alive and able.

Ed and Al looked at her in shock, she had, from out of no where, came striking down on Scar, stopping him from killing Ed. What's more, her strike had made a dent in the ground beside Ed. Somehow, Hinata's strength reminded them of their teacher's, which scared them.

"If you take a step closer, I won't hold back to stop you this time!" Hinata warned. _Hold back!? She was holding back when she made that strike!?_ The two thought in shock. Who would have thought that the quiet and timid Hinata had so much strength, if this is her strength when she was holding back then the boys were scared to know exactly how powerful she really is. And Hinata's eyes, they looked familiar to the two somehow, like they've seen them somewhere before.

"Let's see you try it!" Scar said coolly as he charged at Hinata. Hinata charged back at him and when he was about to strike her head, she ducked and hit him in the stomach with her palm. Scar jumped back from Hinata as she was about to make another strike to his stomach, as he did he groaned in pain slightly. He charged at her again with his arm ready to grasp her head and kill her, he threw his right arm at her but she only dodged to the left. As he was about to strike her again, she striked him in the stomach again with her palm. A jolt of pain hit Scar as he tried to kick her instead hoping to do some damage to her this time. Hinata jumped on Scar's leg dodging his attack, she jumped again flipping over Scar's head, landing right behind him as she delivered another strike to his back. A blue energy could be seen emitting from Hinata's hand as her hand hit Scar's back, sending him flying about three feet away from her.

_How is she able to cause so much damage by just tapping me? Is it some kind of trick? If I get too close she'll be able to strike me again, I'm not sure if I'll be able to dodge the next attack with her speed. The only way to win is keep my distance from her and use alchemy to attack. But before that, I'd like to try something. _Scar thought. Scar flexed his right hand as he brought it down on the ground, crumbling the ground as smoke hid his form.

Hinata watched Scar's form fade into the smoke in his attempt to hide from her, though she could still see him with her 'all-seeing eyes' as her cousin would put it. Her head throbbed and her face hot like fire, she was panting hard now. Hinata wasn't sure how long she could hold out anymore, it took all her strength just to be able to hit Scar. Now she barely had any strength left. She knew that she had to finish this in one strike or else she will probably get killed. This whole time she had tried to hide her panting form and hot head, and she was succeeding so far, but for how long? It will only take a couple more minutes before her legs give out and she collapses. If that happens then she's as good as dead and so are the Elrics.

As Scar plunged out from behind Hinata, she barely had anytime to dodge as he lunged at her head. He had attacked at Hinata's blind spot, which he would have succeeded to rip her head off if he had been quieter. As he was about to strike her, she had heard and sensed Scar's presence behind her, as she barely dodged. Hinata knew that if it had been even a second later that she sensed him, she wouldn't have a head anymore. He had been able to graze the side of her head at her temple, she had escaped death that time. Scar plunged at her again, everytime he tried striking, she felt more and more weeker. Scar was now overwhelming Hinata, he punched her in the stomach, sending her flying a couple of feet like she had done him not too long ago. Hinata tried getting up, but fell back down onto the ground. She was panting even harder now, her head still throbbing in pain. She was coughing uncontrollably, she knew that this was the end of her now. She was going to die, unable to save anyone. Scar was soon ontop of her like he was with Ed before she intervened, his right arm stretched out ready to strike, but before he did, he asked Hinata a question.

"Tell me, girl, where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked. Hinata looked up at him, terror in her eyes. She gulped as she remembered her father. How he would always train her. She really had to thank him for that because if it weren't for his training, no matter how inhumane it was, she wouldn't have been able to hold out this long.

"As the heiress of a powerful clan, my father made sure that I was strong enough to rule the clan. Sadly, I'm the weakest of my clan, my father beat me up until I fell unconcious, telling me that there will be people who wouldn't hesitate to attack. He said that they won't hold back, not even a little so he will also do the same so I would get used to it atleast." Hinata answered, remembering all those times when her father and her battled.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You put up a good fight, I shall imprint your name in my brain for being able to overwhelm me even if for a little bit, Hinata Hyuga. I'll give you a minute to pray to your god." Scar told her. As he was about to strike a sound of a gun shot was heard stopping him.

"That's enough! You won't be killing anybody else today, Scar. I'm taking you into custody where you will answer for atleast ten State Alchemists." Scar holted in his strike as he and the three looked over to the voice, there stood Roy Mustang and some military soldiers.

"Alchemist change the original shape of things to other shapes. This is a blasphemy to the creater of all things, god. And on god's behave, I shall bring down judgement! If you intend on getting in my way, I shall dispatch of you too."

"Interesting." Roy said as he handed Riza the gun in his hands. "Don't interfere in this." He told them.

"Colonel Mustang, sir!?" Riza began.

"Colonel Mustang, so this is the Flame Alchemist. Volunteering yourself to receive judgement, this is truly an auspicious day!" Scar said, interrupting Riza. He flexed his right hand and began forward towards Roy to attack.

"So you know who I am and yet you still wanna challenge me? Bad decision." Roy told him as he walked towards Scar. Riza ran after Roy, as the two were ready to strike each other, Riza tripped Roy as Scar's hand was seconds away from touching his face. She started shooting at Scar making him back away and hide in the corner of the alley.

"Hey Hawkeye, what the hell did you do that for!?" Roy questioned.

"You know as well as I do that you're useless on rainy days, please stay back!" Riza responded.

"Oh yeah I forgot, it's kinda hard to get a spark when it's raining, huh?" Havoc remembered.

"How fortunate that you can't create a flame, State Alchemist. For I will destroy all who interfere with my mission right here and now!"

"Let's see you try it!" Alex said punching the ground where Scar had stood a second ago before he dodged.

"A newcomer."

"You have to be quick to avoid my fist. Not bad, not bad at all. You said you were gonna destroy us all, in that case, why don't you start by defeating me! We'll see how you bear against the Strong Arm Alchemist, Alex Louis Armstrong!" Alex introduced. Some of the soldiers rushed over towards Ed and Hinata, kneeling down beside them to see if they were alright. Hinata's coughing came back and now she was coughing uncontrollably again. She groaned, feeling like someone was pounding on her head continuously with a hammer.

As Scar and Alex battled, the soldiers beside Hinata tried to think of what to do to reduce her fever. One of the man took off his jacket and put it on Hinata while another went to inform a soldier.

Soon, the battle stopped and Scar escaped into the sewers. After that, Ed rushed over to Al to see if he was alright. Al hit him in the face flipping Ed over, startling everyone.

"Why didn't you run away when I told you to, what kind of idiot are you?"

"There's no way I'm not just gonna run away and leave you behind!"

"That's exactly why you're an idiot!" Al yelled back as he punched Ed again.

"Why do you keep punching me like that for? If I'd run away you could've been killed, you know that?"

"And maybe I wouldn't have been! Making the decision to die is something only an idiot does"

"Hey! Wasy on the idiot stuff, I'm still your older brother, got it!?"

"I'll say it all I want to!" Al told him as he grabbed Ed's shirt and pulled him closer. "Survival is the only way, Ed. Live on, learn more about alchemy. You could find a way to get our bodies back and help people like Nina, you can't do that by dying! I won't allow you to abandon the possibility of hope and choose a meaningless death." Al continued, his arm falling off right when he stopped talking.

"OH GREAT! NOW MY ARMS COME OFF BECAUSE MY BROTHER IS A BIG FAT IDIOT!" Al yelled.

Ed leaned forward saying "We really are falling apart now aren't we brother? We look like we belong in a junkyard."

"But we're still alive." Al responded back.

"We are..."

"We're still alive because Hinata and everyone else. We'd be dead without them, huh?"

"Yeah... Wait where is Hinata anyway?" As if to answer his question, two military soldiers ran up to Maes and Roy. Ed and Al overheared what he said.

"Sir, it seems that Hinata Hyuga, the Gentle Fist Alchemist, is sick. What do you want us to do?" One of them told the two.

"What!?" Maes said as he and Roy rushed over to Hinata. Maes knelt down and put his hand on her forehead to see that she was burning up. He pulled back his arm and parted his lips.

"This isn't good, she's burning up." Maes said. Roy nodded his head and called for his Lt. Hawkeye. She ran over to him and awaited for instructions.

"Lt. Hawkeye, I want you to take Hinata to a nearby hospital." Roy ordered. Ed got up when he heard about Hinata, telling Al that he will be back, and hurried over to her. Al was right, he really was stupid! If only he was more stronger, more smarter, this wouldn't have happened. Hinata fought with her all trying to protect the two and what did he do? He just lay on the ground not caring whether he died or not as long as Al was alright.

As Ed knelt down beside Hinata, Riza put her military jacket over him smiling at him when he looked at her. "I'm sure she'll be ok, don't let it get to you. And don't blame yourself for everything either, got it?" Riza told. Ed nodded and turned away looking back at Hinata. He knew that he shouldn't blame himself, but he couldn't help it. First, he made Hinata cry, well kinda, and now she was sick because of him! Who wouldn't feel guilty? He sure made a mess of things, it seemed like he had a habit of doing that. If something were to happen to her he would never be able to forgive himself.

Riza picked Hinata up and carried the girl to her car, Roy opened the door as Riza got close to it. Once she set Hinata down in the back on of her car, Riza got in and drove off in a hurry to the nearest hospital. All Ed and Al, as well as everyone else, could do is watch as Riza drove off. Ed walked back over to Al and sat beside him, leaning forward a bit. As he was about to say something to Al, Roy walked over to the two and told them that he needed to talk to them.

~~~EXTRA~~~

Hinata stood up and ran over to Ed, holding his arm back in mid-air before he could get another hit.

"S-stop... E-Ed, p-please s-stop!" Hinata begged.

"Let go! This bastard deserves what's coming to him!" Ed yelled. Hinata couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. Her eyes narrowed and she began glaring at Ed.

The sunset beamed from behind Ed as he ran away from Hinata with a big smile, Hinata chasing him with a pan in her arms shyly telling to come back with a big innocent smile on her face.

"How dare you defy me!? You think you can get away with disobeying me? All I asked was for you to stop hitting Tucker, and you couldn't even do something so simple!?" Hinata yelled at the goo of Ed on the floor beside a bookshelf away from Tucker and the rest. She started hitting him in the head with her frying pan again, stopping when she realized that she forgotten about Tucker. Hinata stopped the beating and walked up to Tucker, her voice filled with malice.

"And you! How dare you turn Nina and Alexander into a chimera!?" Hinata questioned as she kicked Tucker across the room and to the opposite side of it. She walked over to him and started to stomp on his stomach. Al and Nina/Alexander reached over to Ed, making sure to be quiet to not alert Hinata. Ed layed there where Hinata had left him, sprawled on the ground and blood all over him, he trembled in fear. Al lifted Ed up into a sitting position and the two hugged each other in fear, watching as Hinata beat Tucker up.

~~~EXTRA~~~

"Don't touch him!" Said the voice as a figure from the sky fell down onto to the ground, ready to strike Scar. Before the figure could hit him though, he was able to dodge the attack but just barely. A puff of smoke formed from where Scar was just a second ago, two figures inside the smoke. As the smoke cleared, Hinata and Ed could be seen there.

"Who are-" Scar was interrupted by the sound of a cat meowing. Everyone looked at Hinata weirdly, confused about what that was. There was silence for a second before Hinata's face turned bright red.

"B-but i-it l-looked so lonely s-standing th-there i-in the rain..." Hinata told them as the cat jumped out of Hinata's jacket and started circling her leg.

~~~EXTRA~~~

"If you take a step closer, I won't hesitate to defeat you!" Hinata warned Scar.

"Let's see you try it!" Scar huffed. _Now he's done it!_ Ed and Al thought. All of a sudden an evil aura emitted from Hinata, her eyes turned blood red (How the heck did she do that?). Before Scar could do anything Hinata was infront of him with her pan (Seriously, where the heck does she even keep it!?), she hit him in the face sending him flying. A evil laugh escaped her lips and fire surrounded her (Anyone imagined Allen as they read this part?) as she walked over to Scar, she grabbed him by his coat and started spinning him around. She let go of him making him fly a few meters away and into a building. She walked over to him and started hitting and slapping and kicking him.

**Crack. Crunch. Crack. Crack. Crunch. Slap. Kick. Crack.**

"AHHH! Stop, stop! I've learned my lesson, I won't kill them! **Crack.** AHH! I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, please forgive me!" The two Elrics watched in fear and horror as Hinata beat the crap out of Scar.


	6. The Death of Hinata's Mother

**Hey guy! Well, I've been reading more of Daughter of Compassion and I gotta tell you, it's a good story! Same as the rest of the stories I've read. There's something that I noticed while reading it though, there are a bit of similarities between her story and mine so I might have to change a couple of things so it wouldn't seem like I'm copying him/her. But I'm too lazy to do so so I might just leave it as is, it's not like it's exactly the same right? Yeah, maybe I should just leave it the way it is since that would mean I have to change things that I've planned in later chapters and to tell you the truth, I'd rather do homework than take my time to think of new ideas. That's right, I'm just that lazy. Anyways! I know that this chapter isn't that long but it is longer than the last one so I kept my promise about this one being longer. If you have any questions than don't hesitate to ask and I'll try to respond to them as soon as I can. Make sure to vote for who you want Hinata to end up too! Now to the story!**

**Action/noise**

_Flashback/thought_

"Normal talk"

* * *

Hinata layed there in the bed in her hospital room. It had been two days since the fight with Scar and everyone was worried over Hinata, since she hadn't woken up from then. The two Elric brothers had left to Resembool just a couple of hours ago since they needed to get Ed's arm fixed, and to get Al's body back to it's original one pieced armor form. They had been hoping that she would wake up before they left, wanting to apologize to her for putting her in danger like that, and so they could head out together. When it was time to head out they had asked Maes if he could tell her that they went out and where, Maes had agreed to it and now he was sitting here in Hinata's hospital room.

Maes was actually kind of glad that she was sick because it meant that she would be able to relax and rest, since she seemed like the kind of person that would do anything to make sure someone else is happy and alright. It also meant that he could skip work to watch over her. Maes was sitting in a chair near Hinata's bed when he needed to go. He got up and exited the room to go to the rest room.

Instead of going back to Hinata's room when he was done, he went to the nearest telephone haven remembered that he needed to talk to someone.

Hinata slowly opened her eyes as she sat upright on the bed, she rubbed her eyes to get the sleep out of them and yawned. She observed the room she was in not remembering ever being there. As she did, she realized that she was in a hospital room. The room was all white and the smell of sickness and medicine made her feel nauseous, how she hated being the patient. She had helped out in a hospital before but she never really liked being in one, hospitals were usually dull and gloomy and the smell would always make her nauseous. She shivered at the memory of when she worked at one.

Oh how her head hurt. Maybe she should lie back down and sleep, that'd be nice. Before Hinata could lie down, someone knocked on the door.

"C-come in." Hinata told the person. The door opened to reveal none other than Fuhrer King Bradley, a basket of melon in his hand.

"Well hello there Gentle Fist, I see you're finally awake." Bradley greeted as he gave Hinata the basket with the melon inside to Hinata. "Hope you like melons." He continued. _Just exactly how long was I out? _Hinata wondered.

"U-um...E-excuse me, how l-long was I o-out f-for?" Hinata questioned.

"For two days now I believe." The Fuhrer answered. Hinata's eyes widened in shock, was she really out for that long? But wait, what happened to Ed and Al? Are they alright? Last she remembered was her fighting Scar and then him standing on top of her.

"A-are E-Ed and Al o-okay?" Hinata asked.

"Yes, they actually just left for Resembool, atleast that's what I've heard." Bradley told her. So they were alright. Hinata sighed in relief, she was glad that nothing had happened to them. But wait, why were they going to Resembool? Was it to repair Ed's arm? She had remembered Scar smashing it into pieces before she blacked out.

"Fuhrer Bradley, where are you?" Came a voice outside the door.

"Well it seems I must be going, take care." Bradley told her. "Stupid bodyguards following me everywhere." Bradley mumbled though Hinata was able to hear it. She giggled as Bradley jumped out the window and walked away. Funny how she didn't notice the window there until now.

The door opened and then clicked shut as Maes walked in, seeing Hinata looking at the window and giggling.

"You're awake!" Maes exclaimed in relief. Hinata jumped in surprise, not haven sensed him come in.

"M-M-Mr. H-Hughes!" Hinata stuttered out. Maes laughed at Hinata's expression as he sat on the chair by the bed.

"So how you feeling?" Maes asked, his laughter dying down.

"I-I'm feeling fine now, t-thank you." Hinata replied, smiling at him.

"Oh yeah, Ed and Al told me to tell you that they left for Resembool to fix Ed's arm. He said to tell you to come to the Rockbell's Automail as soon as you're feeling better, and not to push yourself." Maes told her. Hinata stared at Meas blankly, but then smiled again.

"H-hm! I'll m-make sure of it! When's t-the n-next train to Resembool?" Hinata asked.

"You're thinking of leaving now?" Maes questioned. He really didn't want her to move around so much yet since he was pretty sure she was still sick.

"Yeah... I want t-to get to t-them as soon as possible, since I am s-suppose to be traveling with t-them." Hinata explained.

"Well, the next train to Resembool won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon." Meas told her, glad that she hadn't awoken any sooner. The last train had just left only a couple of hours ago with Ed and Al on it, Alex tagging along to protect them.

"By the way, what did you do to make yourself sick?" Meas questioned. Hinata thought back to before, she couldn't tell him how she slept outside in the rain could she?

"I-I k-kinda...well...fell asleep o-outside in the r-rain... Ha...hahaha..." Hinata answered nervously, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. She was sure that she would get a scolding for sleeping out in the rain.

"You what!?" Maes yelled standing up, knocking the chair he was sitting on on its side in the process. "No wonder you became so sick. What were you thinking anyway? What if you got Hypothermia?" Hinata sweatdropped and continued laughing nervously and rubbing her head. Just like she thought she was going to get scolded. Though it wasn't her fault that she fell asleep, blame her tiredness for all this! Well...she's the one that gave in to temptation so it is kinda her fault...

"I-I'm s-sorry..." Hinata apologized. She just hoped that he wasn't too mad at her. Maybe she could change the subject before he starts lecturing her, but what could she change it to? Maybe about the Elrics? Or maybe about what happened after she blacked out? **Growl**. Boy was she hungry right now, who wouldn't be after not eating for two days though? _That's it!_ A light bulb appeared right above her head as an idea popped in her mind.

"U-um... M-Mr. Hughes? D-do you think we can go e-eat o-out somewhere or something? I-I'm quite hungry from not h-haven eaten in two days." Hinata asked. Meas sighed, as much as he wanted to scold Hinata for sleeping out in the rain, he knew that getting food into her was more important.

"Sure, but we don't have to waste money eating out. You can come to my house and eat Gracia's cooking instead." Meas said as he and Hinata smiled. Now Hinata couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, Gracia's cooking was superb! Hinata jumped out of bed exclaiming her happiness like a five year old did when receiving a new toy.

"Hahahaha!" Meas laughed, making Hinata realize her behavior and blush a dark pink in embarrassment. She sure felt silly for how she had been acting and in front of Meas too. She hadn't done anything like that since her mother was alive. Her mother... Ah! What was she doing thinking about her mom, this was no time to get depressed! Hinata decided to get her mind off of her mother by thinking about Gracia's delicious food. Her mouth began to water at the thought of Gracia's delicious cooking. She probably looked like a child but the only thing on her mind right now was the delicious food.

Soon a nurse came in to check up on Hinata and finding nothing wrong and Hinata was perfectly healthy, she gave permission for Hinata to leave the hospital anytime she wanted. Hinata searched the room for her clothes, changing into them when she found them. Hinata exited the room and ran over to Meas. They exited the hospital and as they walked to Meas car, he had remembered that he had some business to attend to. When he told Hinata this he had offered to give her a ride to his house. She declined the offer but thanked him for offering a ride, telling him that she could just walk to his house. Maes tried persuading her to let him drive her but gave up after a bit.

Hinata waved to Maes as the car drove further and further away from her sight of vision. Deciding that it was time to go, Hinata left for the Hughes' house.

**Ding Dong**

"Coming!" Gracia called out as she sat little Elicia down onto the couch. Gracia ran to the door and opened it, there stood Hinata smiling nervously at her.

"Hinata! Come in, please." Gracia opened the door wider and gestured for Hinata to come in. Hinata bowed and headed inside with Gracia right behind, though not until the two greeted each other. Just as Hinata and Gracia were about to leave for the living room, Elicia came running towards Hinata and hugged her with a wide grin on her face.

"Hinata!" Elicia exclaimed joyfully. Hinata knelt down to Elicia's height and hugged her back.

"H-hello Elicia, long t-time no see." Hinata smiled, holding up her hand in a hi motion.

"Yeah! So, are you staying over for the night?" Elicia questioned. Hinata wasn't sure how to answer, she had only come here because Mr. Hughes had told her to come here to eat. She couldn't possible trouble them by staying over, she was probably already wasting their precious time. Hinata stayed quiet not knowing what to tell Elicia.

"Why don't you stay over for atleast one night? We would love to have you over, and I'm sure Elicia and Maes feels the exact same way, right?" Gracia said. Elicia nodded her head to show that she agreed.

The three walked to the living room with Hinata sitting on one couch and Gracia and Elicia on the other, Elicia sitting on Gracia's lap. Hinata smiled brightly, how she missed this place alot. She hadn't been here since the incident with the Freezing Alchemist. She could still remember how she had walked around the city trying to find Ed and Al. She would've used her Byakugan to find them but she didn't want to risk being caught using it. There was a possibility that she would get questioned about it and even forced to use it to help murder people, even if they said it was for the good of the people. Killing... Just the thought of it made a shiver run up her spine.

If she remembered correctly, she had followed Isaac all the way to jail. He went to visit a guy named... Cancer? No that wasn't the name... Maybe Kyle...? No, that wasn't the name either. The name had the sound of a k as the beginning. K...k...k... Kimblee! That's right, the guy's name was Kimblee! He served in the military a while back, in the Ishbalan war. They called him the Red...ah...it had red in it she was sure of that... Red...Red...Red Lotus Alchemist, that's right! The two were talking about Fuhrer King Bradley and what took place in Ishbal...right? _**"Kimblee, if we work together we can bring down Bradley and his god forsaken military. You saw the horrors that took place in Ishbal, you were there dammit! You know the things Bradley ordered us to do, the kind of man he really is!" **_Hinata remembered Isaac say. She had wondered what he exactly meant by that but shook the thought out when Kimblee responded back. What exactly happened in Ishbal anyway? Maybe she could ask someone or do some research on it...

"Hinata? Did you hear what I said?" Gracia asked, interrupting Hinata from her thoughts. Hinata shook her head before bringing her attention onto Gracia.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I was spacing o-out... What w-was i-it that you said?" Hinata asked, a slight blush on her face.

"It's ok and I was just asking how long you'll be staying here." Gracia told her.

"O-oh, I was p-planning on going to R-Resembool t-tomorrow to catch up with Ed and A-Al, so only a-a d-day I guess." Hinata answered. She just hoped that no one else asked how she got sick or anything, though the expression on Maes's face was pretty funny she had to admit that. Hinata had only been to Resembool three times, two for the State Alchemist test and one when she was traveling with her mom out of her country. Hinata wondered what kind of person was Ed's engineer, or whether the person was a girl or boy. The boys never really told her anything except for well...their pasts. But then again, Ed and Al don't even know of her past, which if she thinks about it is kinda unfair. But if she did tell them of her past then they'll probably hate her, maybe even report her to the military. **Sigh.** She probably shouldn't think of negative things, maybe the Elric's won't hate her?

"I see, but why are you leaving so early?" Gracia questioned, bringing Hinata out of her head.

"A-ah, well... I'm suppose t-to b-be traveling with them, that a-and also because I w-want to hurry over to them. T-there are a c-couple o-of things I want to talk to t-them about." Hinata answered.

"Is that so? Well I should go and get something ready for you to eat, you must be very hungry from not haven eaten for so long." Gracia said as she lifted Elicia off her lap and sat her on the couch, standing up and leaving for the kitchen. But before she could Hinata stopped her.

"I-I'll h-help you with that, I-I mean it's only right s-since I-I did come unannounced."

"Are you sure? Aren't you still recovering?" Gracia asked.

"O-oh no, the d-doctor said that I w-was a-all better now!" Hinata responded happily.

"Is that so? Well that's great! I guess if you really want to you can help." Gracia said as the two walked into the kitchen. Soon, the two got busy with making food, stopping to talk occasionally to talk about what else to make or some other subjects. Elicia had also joined them, though only watched them make stuff, and waited impatiently for the food to be done so she could eat too. After about an hour, all the food was done and they Elicia and Hinata got the table ready so they could eat. Once the table was set and food was out, they began to eat.

As Hinata was about to take her fifth spoon of her stew, Elicia interrupted her with a comment she made.

"Wow, this is delicious!" Elicia said happily as she took another spoon of her stew.

"She's right, it is delicious! How did you learn to cook like this?" Gracia asked. Hinata laughed nervously as she remembered all those times her and her mother would make food for the family. She was still little at that time so she didn't do major stuff but she would always try to memorize all the things her mother did and put into the food. She hadn't thought that her cooking was exactly that good, atleast not like Gracia's or the chiefs at her house. Maybe they were just saying that to make her feel good?

"R-really?" Hinata questioned, wanting to confirm whether they meant it or not.

"Yup!" The two exclaimed, confirming that they meant it. Hearing them say that brought great joy to Hinata, since she hadn't gotten a compliment in such a long time. Though hearing it from them was even more well...pleasing. It felt the same as when her mother and teacher compliments her, even her father since it's a rare occasion. She could feel her blush increase.

The rest of that time was spent talking and eating. After they had finished eating, Gracia and Hinata did the dishes and cleaned up the mess while Elicia sat on the couch feeling satisfied with the food. Once the dishes were done and the mess was cleaned, Hinata and Gracia went to sit down on the couches. But before they sat, Hinata stopped Gracia.

"U-um... G-Gracia? I-Is it ok if I go o-out for a little walk, p-please?" Hinata asked.

"I guess." Gracia said.

"T-thank you. I-I'll make sure not t-to take long." Hinata bowed as a show of thanks.

XxXxXx

As Hinata walked down the streets of Central, her mind kept going to what Isaac had said when he visited Kimblee. What exactly did he mean by who Fuhrer Bradley really was? What exactly did Fuhrer Bradley even order them to do in Ishbal? How she wished she knew. There were so many things Hinata didn't know, which made her feel ignorant to the world. Why exactly did the army even target Ishbal? From what she heard, they didn't have much in Ishbal. So why? When that person shot the Ishbalan kid, when the war was just starting, wasn't there still a chance to stop it? There's so much that Hinata didn't know about the war. Maybe she could-

"Well well, if it isn't **the **Hinata Hyuga. Who would have thought that I'd run into you here, and so soon too." A dark mysterious voice said, interrupting Hinata from her thoughts. Hinata turned around to see a man around his mid twenties with spiky black hair and green eyes. He had a huge mischievous smirk on his face, one that sent a chill down Hinata's spine.

"W-who a-are you?" Hinata questioned. This man made her feel uneasy somehow, like he was some kind of bad guy.

"Who me? I'm just an ordinary commoner, well...atleast compared to you." The man responded.

"T-That d-doesn't answer my q-question!" Hinata yelled, even though it didn't sound like it. She was glaring at the man, a drop of sweat running from her forehead and to her chin.

"I guess it doesn't. Well, you'll know soon enough, but right now you don't need to know."

"I-if you're not gonna a-answer t-that then atleast tell me how you k-know m-me!"

"Let's just say, I'm with the people who tried to kill your mother." Hinata flinched. He was with the people who wanted to kill her mother? The ones that almost did?

"Oh don't look at me like that~ I mean, it wasn't like we really did kill her. Aren't you responsible for that part? Because of you, we weren't able to kill her." Hinata's body shook at his words. It felt like a hundred swords had just stabbed her all over. Hot salty tears ran down from her eyes as she remembered that day. She didn't mean to kill her mother, honestly! She just...she just wanted to protect her, that all!

_"Mom! NO, let go of me!" Hinata screamed as she reached out to find something she could use to help her mother. She had to find a way to help her mother, to get her out of that man's grip. She needed to get out of this man's hold and help her mother. After a couple of seconds of feeling around, her hands landed on a sword. It was the sword that the man used to try to stab her mother with. As she grasped the sword, she whipped the sword towards the direction of the man and slashed his arm. As he screamed in at the pain and his hold on her loosened, she got out of his grip and charged at the man who held her mother._

_**Splat. Drip. Drip.**_

_A river of blood oozed out from the chest of Hinata's mom and dripped down on the ground. The blood had spurted out rapidly from the wound, some had gotten in Hinata's face when the sword made contact with her mom. Hinata couldn't believe what had happened, she had just stabbed her mother through the heart. Hinata wasn't stupid, she knew that if stabbed in the heart, the person dies. Hinata's whole body shook as her mother fell on top of Hinata, the sword still in her body. More and more blood flowed through the wound and all over Hinata. Hinata tried to sit up with all her strength, and did so. Even more tears began racing down her cheeks and onto her mother's head. She pulled her hands up and onto her cheeks and screamed as hard as she could. Hinata didn't want to believe it, that her mother was dead all because of her. She didn't mean to kill her, she just wanted to protect her mother. How...how could this have happened? It wasn't suppose to be like this! Why! Why was god so cruel to her!? No no no no no no no no no, this wasn't happening! It can't be happening! It had to be some kind of joke! Yeah, that's right. This was just all a made dream, a nightmare. Soon she would wake up and see her mother's warm comforting smile. _

_"Hi...Hinata... I'm...sorry..." Hinata froze at the words. Why was her mother apologizing? She should be the one to apologize, not her mother._

_"Momma!? Momma, get up! Please!" Hinata got out from underneath her mother and shook her vigorously. Maybe, just maybe, her mother wasn't dead yet. There might still be time. Hinata wiped the hot tears away as she continued to shake her mother in a hopeless attempt to awake her._

"What's wrong, thinking about the past are we?" The man asked, the grin still on his face. Hinata was forced out of her flashback, which she was glad for. She unconsciously wiped the tears away and began to glare daggers at the man. She didn't like him. His character spelled evil all over it. She needed to get out of here, and soon. Anywhere was better than here, than with this man.

Hinata sped off to no where in particular. All she wanted to do was get away from that man. From the memories. She didn't want to remember that again, but the man had made her with his comment. More and more memories flooded into her mind as she ran. The tears never seized to stop, flowing even more rapidly that before. She wanted to get away, away from all of it. All the feelings she tried to bottle up suddenly exploded out. Hinata's heart raced as more more memories forced its way into her memories All the sad memories, all the happy memories, they intertwined together until only one memory remained. That memory was that of her mother's death, the night that she killed her own mother. _If only...if only I was more stronger than this would have never happened!_

Hinata let out a yelp as she tripped over a rock and fell to the round. She couldn't stand it anymore, she didn't care if a crowd formed or if she looked stupid, Hinata let out a hard choked scream putting all her feelings into it as she did. Hinata got up and began to run again. Why was it her that lived and not her mother instead? Why did her mother have to die for anyway? Dammit! Why was she always left in the dust? Did she deserve to know that atleast!? If only...if only she could go to the past and correct things, to stop her mother's death.

Hinata tripped on another rock and struggled to balance herself, though she hadn't been successful and fell forward. As Hinata fell, she realized what she had been thinking just before. _If my mother hadn't died then would I have never met Ed and Al, and everyone else?_ Hinata felt stupid and guilty at what she had thought back there. It's like she wouldn't hesitate to cut all bonds with everyone if it meant that she could be with her mother, like she didn't care about them that much. In the short time that she spend with everyone here she had grown to love them all, like they were her family. How could she just thing of erasing their existence from her life without a second thought? It wasn't right! They'd done so much for her and how does she repay them? By not even hesitating to erase them from her memories! She was an awful person, no better than criminals who aimlessly killed for please. Sure her mother was very important to her, but so were her friends. That is if she could even be called their friends after what she thought.

Hinata looked up sadly at the blue and almost cloudless sky as she forced all the memories of her mother to the back of her head, letting new memories flood into her mind as images of Ed, Al and her came to. Hinata sighed and nodded her head slowly, how could she possibly forget those precious memories?The two boys were like brothers to her, she could never bring herself to forget them. Let alone hurt them.

Deciding that it was time that she should head back, Hinata sighed and got up. Only then did it occur to her that she had just been aimlessly running and not paying attention to where she was going. She didn't even look around the place she was at!

**Sigh.** Hinata observed the place she had run to. The place had lots of buildings but it didn't look like many people lived here. There were barely any people walking around and they seemed to either ignore Hinata, or didn't take the time to try to notice her. But it wasn't like she wasn't happy! She was relieve that the people didn't seem to notice her or stare at her or anything while she had that little episode. She should probably get back to the Hughes' house before they begin to worry about her.

The whole time she walked back she felt ashamed and angry with herself for thinking such things. If she could, she wanted to apologize to everyone about that but knew she shouldn't. If she did then they would ask why and what happened and Hinata didn't want to tell them of that little episode.

XxXxXxXx

That night Hinata had a tough time going to sleep as she dreamed of that night. Hinata was restless the whole night and ended up waking up atleast four times that night. She felt frightened, though she didn't know of what it was. Maybe it was because her mother wasn't there? Or maybe because she was afraid of what the others would think of her if she revealed everything? She couldn't possibly tell them what happened, that would be like making the devil angry and then asking him not to kill her. Atleast that's what Hinata thought.

XxXxXxXx

_**"So I heard that you ran into the girl."**_

_**"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't"**_

_**"You know that you weren't suppose to show yourself to her, atleast not until Father gave the order!"**_

_**"Oh come on, it's not like she figured out who we were~ Besides, we are gonna show ourselves eventually so what's the big deal?"**_

**_"The big deal is that you disobeyed orders!"_**

**_"Whatever. Boy, she sure is fun and easy to tease. She's a cutie as well, so it makes it even more fun. I wonder if her blood is just as good as her looks?"_**

**_"Freak..."_**

~~EXTRA~~

"I-I've been w-wondering for a while now h-how t-tall are you exactly Ed?" Hinata asked. She knew that talking about his height was a bad idea but curiosity got the better of her.

"Um...well...I'm 5'2..." Ed answered nervously. Somehow Hinata got the feeling that he was lying. Was he really that bothered with his height? Come to think of it, he always wears those big boots and has an antenna thing sticking up between his bangs. Does he do that to make himself taller?

Hinata, wanting to find out, came up to Ed and measured herself against him. She was only a couple of centimeters taller than him so he must be lying, since she's 5'0 and a half.

"Y-your l-lying Ed, you can't be t-that tall because that would m-mean y-you'd be taller than me." Hinata stated. She could see Ed tense up and start sweating. She actually felt bad for him at that moment, maybe she shouldn't have said anything. He was pretty sensitive about his height after all so it must be hard for him to hear that.

"Don't worry about big brother, Hinata. He likes to think that he is atleast a little tall, so you saying something like that kinda upset him I guess." Al told her. Well that didn't really make her feel better... Maybe she should apologize or something, he does seem kind of down. As she was about to say sorry she noticed that he wasn't where he was before. Hinata looked around the room to spot him huddled up in a corner looking depressed.

Feeling that she should comfort him, she walked up to him and knelt down beside him.

"E-Ed? I-I'm sorry for earlier... Can y-you forgive me?" Hinata asked. The only response she heard was a muffle from him, which she didn't understand.

"I-I don't understand. How a-about t-this, if you forgive m-me then can you look up at me t-to s-show me?" Hinata thought. Slowly, he looked up at Hinata with sad and...cute...eyes. All of a sudden, Hinata's face showed...shock? Or was it surprise? Maybe a different emotion? Before anyone could identify the look in her eyes, Hinata was all over Ed saying how cute he was. Sparkles danced all around her as she rubbed her cheek against Ed's, squeezing him in a tight hug. Everyone in the room watched lost for words on what was happening. All Ed could do was blush from the sudden contact and comments and struggle to breathe under her death grip.

* * *

**Sorry about the OC's (if you haven't figured out that they were) but I just brought them out so that it would be easier to reveal her past to the boys, that's all. They're only there for that reason and nothing else! Atleast I think they are... Anyway, make sure to leave a review because remember; the more reviews I get the faster I update!**


	7. Feeling More Comfortable and Rockbell's

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update! I've been quite busy for Nov. with homework and birthdays (happy late birthday to me!) and Dec. wasn't any better with Christmas and stuff. Then Jan. has come and I've been feeling all cruddy (_) and have been quite sick lately, I even missed lots of school! When I was free I was playing combat arms (Yeah combat arms rules!) because my little brother downloaded it and I can't resist playing that game, it's just so fun! When I wasn't playing games I was sleeping or drawing or something, also working on this chapter. I kept on changing my mind on what to put on here that after a bit, I had enough and just stuck to the current thing I had put on. Oh, and while I was sick I had come up with all these great ideas! But...they were new story ideas and not ones for this one. -_-''' Actually, I might even go through with them and type them out and put them on fanfiction, but I'm not quite sure. Anyway! Here's the progress on the poll:**

**EdHina - 7**

**AlHina - 2**

**LingHina, EnvyHina - 1**

**GreedHina, NaruHina, SasuHina, KibaHina, NejiHina - 0**

**On with the story!**

"Talk"

_Think_

_Flashback/Dream_

_**Thinking (dream/flashback)**  
_

* * *

Hinata woke up an hour before her alarm was to ring. She was very tired from the lack of sleep, which meant she was grumpy. Usually Hinata was a morning person but with all the nightmares she had she wasn't in a very good mood. Every time she tried to get her mind off the nightmares she ended up thinking of that man from yesterday, which made her feel worse. Whenever she'd been able to calm herself down and go back to sleep she would start dreaming about her mother again, making her even more depressed then she already was. Hinata began to think that the dreams were probably gonna continue coming for a week or so, which she didn't want. The last thing she wanted was to meet with the boys looking and feeling horrible. From what she heard from Mr. Hughes the boys had stayed in her hospital room for as long as they could. When she heard that she felt happy that they cared so much, but she also felt bad that they wasted their time waiting for her and she never awoke before their train to Resembool. She didn't want them to worry anymore so she decided to try and be as cheerful as she could when she saw them. That's not that hard, right? Hinata sighed, she really hoped she could pull it off with her bad acting.

There had also been something that was bothering her for a while now. She had been stressing out with the conversation between Isaac and Kimblee. She really didn't know that much about the Fuhrer or the Civil War. The more she thought about it, the more worried she got. If only there were some way for her to maybe spy on him or get some information. There was also the higher-ups that worried her. She really wanted to investigate some on this, but the question was how? She wasn't really good at spying so she couldn't do it. She had to think of something. Maybe she could send someone to do it... But who? Who would be a good option? It had to be someone who was good at spying and good enough of a fighter... But who? Think, think...

_That's it!_ Hinata thought as a light-bulb appeared above her head. Why didn't she think of it earlier? She could ask Akira or Lightning, she was sure that they'd be willing to do it. Plus, they're good at spying and fighting, so they'd be the best choice. Besides, she hadn't summoned them in a long time and she missed them a lot.

Nodding her head, Hinata got up from the bed and knelt down on the ground. She bit her thumb letting blood ooze out from the wound as she slammed her hand down onto the ground, a poof of smoke appearing as soon as she did.

"Akira/Lightning reporting for duty!" Two voices said in unison. Once the smoke cleared it revealed a wolf and cat in its place. The cat was black with purple eyes, a lightning-like mark on its hind leg. The wolf was a dark blue and white color with light grey eyes.

"Akira, Lightning, long time no see!" Hinata exclaimed joyfully. The last time she had summoned the two of them was about four months ago and she had missed them a lot.

"Long time no see Hinata. You haven't summoned us in a long time, why is that?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, I almost thought that you abandoned us." Lightning said.

"I'm sorry." Hinata apologized. "It's just that I have to be careful when doing jutsus around people-"

"Yeah, yeah we know. It's just that you could've atleast summoned us once over that time so we knew that you were safe." Akira interrupted.

"I'm sorry." Hinata apologized again.

"Don't worry. Anyway, why have you summoned us? I'm sure that it wasn't to just say hello." Thunder questioned.

"Well... I wanted you two to spy on a couple of people. Do you think you can do it?" Hinata asked.

"Of course!" Thunder cheered.

"Just tell us what to do." Akira continued.

"Alright." Hinata smiled. She was happy to have such great friends.

"This is what I want you to do-"

* * *

Hinata ran passed the people as she rushed over to her train. If she didn't hurry then the train would leave without her, meaning she'd have to wait for the next train which was at noon. Picking up some speed, Hinata dodged the people as she made her way to her train. Hinata got on and sat on one of the seats, leaning back as she relaxed. Good, she made it in time.

She was still feeling tired but thanks to Mrs. Hughes' delicious cooking and the nice warm bath, she was able to wake up a bit more. After meeting up with Akira and Lightning, even if it was short, she felt much happier than she did before. She just hoped that she could stay like that when meeting Ed and Al. She was also excited to meet the Rockbell's, since she knew nothing about them. The only thing she knew was that they were the ones who gave Ed his automail arm and leg. For some reason though it felt like she had heard that name before, though she didn't know where from.

There was also the automail, it intrigued her. In Konoha they didn't have automail or anything like that, they didn't even have any vehicles and barely any machinery. So of course anyone would be atleast a little interested, though she was also interested in it because she liked learning new things like that. She liked learning about new medicines and more about herbs, things that are helpful to people you could say.

"Excuse me but can I sit here?" A voice spoke snapping Hinata from her thoughts. She looked up and gasped at who she saw.

"N-N-Neji/L-Lady Hinata?" The both choked out. She never thought that she'd see him in a place like this, riding a train. Neji was always one to walk and hated going on vehicles and such, saying how they were crowded and left him open for attacks.

Neji was also surprised to see Hinata here, he never took her for a person who liked going on vehicles. She was one like him, liked walking on foot instead of riding on vehicles. But then again, he hadn't seen her for about a year and a half so it was possible that she had different opinions on things. Deciding that it was about time he should sit down, he walked over and sat across from Hinata. The two stayed silent for a couple of minutes as the train rolled off to Resembool.

"I never expected to see you riding on a train, considering that you preferred walking." Neji got out after a long silence.

"N-nor I." Was Hinata's only reply. She had never expected to see him, atleast not so soon. She was kind of nervous and scared of meeting him, since he had gotten pretty close to her father and if she said anything inappropriate or bad then he would have to report it to her father. If her father heard what she said then that would mean big trouble for her. Though she needn't worry too much about it since her cousin and her were pretty close to each other and he wouldn't say anything, unless he really had to that is. Neji was like a big brother to her and she surely did consider him as one, calling him "big brother" or "my brother" or just "brother" at times.

"So...how's military work? Have you found what you were searching for?" Neji asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"I-It's alright, I've met v-very g-good people who have helped me lots. As f-for m-my search, I-I've barely been able to f-find a-anything..." Hinata answered, smiling slightly. There was another long silence as the two just stared at each other, trying to find something to say to the other.

"W-what w-were you doing here?" Hinata asked. She was curious about why he was here, since he barely left the 'Elemental Countries'.

"I've been given a mission to observe a group of people. Tell me Lady Hinata, have you noticed anything strange about this country? Maybe even seen something strange?" Neji questioned.

"W-what d-do you mean?" Hinata asked. She had been sensing something off about this country but shrugged the feeling away thinking it was nothing. As for seeing, she has never really used her Byakugan to look at the country since she didn't really have a reason to.

"There's something strange about this country, I have a bad feeling about this place. I never really tried getting a good look at this place since I had to worry about my mission but now I'm starting to get a very bad feeling, something's not right about this place. I thought that since your Byakugan is stronger than mine, you'd be able to find out." Neji told her.

"N-now t-that you mention it I have h-had a weird feeling about this place b-but I-I never paid much attention to it since I thought it was n-nothing. B-But as e-each day passes, the feeling g-gets s-stronger... D-do you think that s-something b-big is going to happen soon?" Hinata asked, worried. She really hoped that nothing did happen and that it was just a weird feeling, an imagination.

"I'm not sure but it wouldn't hurt to do some research on this country. If you'd like I can do some research about this place when I get back just in case something really isn't right about here?" Neji suggested.

"T-that'd be great, I-I'd also like to do some r-research too. I-I'd rather not take a look too soon and if I do then I-I'd rather do it when no one's around, g-getting caught u-using the By-Byakugan is a bad idea." Hinata nodded. It wouldn't hurt to do some research on the place, right?

"If anything happens then make sure to sent a messenger and it wouldn't hurt to get in contact every couple of weeks, like sending your messenger every couple of weeks to keep each other informed." Neji said. Hinata nodded, it would probably be best to do so. She should probably inform the boys also about this. You never know, they might know something.

"I-I t-think I should ask Ed and Al about what t-they think about it, you never know they might know s-something since they were born h-here." Hinata thought. Neji gave Hinata a quizzical look as she mentioned Ed and Al.

"Who's Ed and Al?" Neji questioned, his eyes brows furrowed in suspicion.

"T-They work in the m-military like me, well a-atleast E-Ed. E-Ed is the Fullmetal Alchemist, E-Edward Elric. His little b-brother i-is A-Alphonse Elric, but most people c-call t-them Ed and Al." Hinata told him. She hoped that she was imagining it but she could feel a killer intent in Neji which made her nervous, and scared.

"Why are you hanging out with them?" Neji interrogated.

"I-I was a-assigned to a-accompany them in their journey." Hinata answered, a sweatdrop forming in the back of her head.

"And where are they?" Neji asked. Hinata inwardly sighed, she just hoped that nothing bad was gonna happen.

"They are i-in Resembool, t-that's why I'm g-going t-there." Hinata replied, feeling agitated.

"Why aren't you with them?" Ok now the questions were kinda freaking her out. Sure her cousin was protective over her, but she never thought he was quite that protective.

"W-why are you asking me s-so m-many questions?" Hinata asked. Even though she knew the answer, she just wanted him off her back. Neji sighed and leaned towards the window and looked out, his expression calmed a bit. Hinata also sighed, though silently, glad that he dropped the subject. Deciding to do what Neji was doing, she moved closer to the window and leaned on it looking out.

* * *

Hinata walked up to the pathway that led to the Rockbell's house, Neji following close behind. About twenty minutes before the train pulled into the station, Neji had told her that he was going to make sure she was okay. Atleast that's what he claimed, she knew that it was to see who the boys were and what they were like. She guessed that something's never change, not that she really minds. She was glad he could come with her, it meant that they would spend more time with each other. She really missed him and was so happy when he said that he would accompany her, though she was also suspicious of him. She just hoped that he wouldn't overreact or something. Knowing Ed, he wouldn't mind picking a fight with Neji if something happened. Hinata silently sighed, she just hoped that everything would go well.

As they neared the house they heard a barking noise which couldn't have come from anything but a dog, unless it was a chimera or a person trying to impersonate a dog. The door opened a minute later the dog started barking, revealing a well... little woman. Hinata saw that behind her was Ed and a buffy man. Hinata smiled brightly as she ran over to Ed, Ed doing the same and running over to her waving at her.

"Hinata, hey!" Ed yelled to her. The two ran to each other and as they neared Ed stumbled on a rock and tripped. When Hinata saw that Ed was going to fall, she increased her speed and just in the nick of time she caught him before he could hit the ground. It was hard for Hinata to hold him up since he didn't have a right arm, so she had to hold him tight towards her as to not let him fall. The two blushed, though Ed's was nothing compared to Hinata's of course. Ed looked up at Hinata and the two stared each other in the eyes. They did this for a couple of seconds until Ed pulled away from her breaking eye contact. Rubbing the back of his head, Ed let his eyes drift to his left. Hinata fidgeted and looked down at the ground in embarrassment, letting her bangs fall and cover most of her face.

Ed coughed into his hand as he began to nervously speak. "It's...uh...nice to see you."

Hinata nodded nervously, the big blush still present on her face as she spoke. "Sa-same to you."

That's when Ed noticed someone who he'd never seen before behind Hinata walking towards them, a scowl on his face. Ed didn't like the way the man looked at him and returned it with his very own glare. Neji walked up to the two and stopped right beside Hinata, observing Ed. If what Hinata had told Neji about Edward Elric, then this was probably the guy. She said that he had long blonde hair tied into a pigtail, golden eyes, an automail arm and leg, he hates being called short of anything close to that, and he's shorter than his younger brother who wore a suit of armor. Though Neji didn't see the kid in a suit of armor he still guessed that this boy was the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, by how friendly he was towards his cousin and the height. But just to make sure...

"You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, right? It's a pleasure to meet the **shortest** State Alchemist in **history**. I heard that you're so **small** that you're the **size** of a **bean**. Guess the sayings are **true**." Neji said, emphasizing on some of the words. A big tic appeared on the side of Ed's forehead as he lunged at Neji in anger for calling him small while yelling "SIZE OF A WHAT!". As Hinata tried to hold Ed back from attacking Neji, said person stood there smirking at Ed. Neji was now positive that that was Ed.

It was quite funny for Neji to see Ed's reaction to his words. He was sure that he would enjoy his time here, he was sure to bug Ed for it was fun to do. Though Ed would get to be annoying like Naruto or Lee.

Neji watched as a bulky man and a short old lady came to them. The bulky man walked up to the pipsqueak and began lifting him in the air.

"Calm down Edward." The man told him. Ed ignored him and only continued to struggle out of the man's hold and yell for him to let go, cursing every couple of seconds. This continued for a couple of minutes until the bulky man had had enough of Ed and threw him aimlessly. Unluckily, Ed had been thrown at Hinata who had been too surprised to move out of the way.

Neji's smirk vanished as he leaped towards the two in order to stop Ed from crashing into her.

It was successful, but it came with a price. Neji had gotten in between them just in time which led to Ed crashing into him. The two lay on the ground with Ed on top. It was quite funny to see the two like that. Ed had his head on Neji's chest while his right leg was in between Neji's, his left arm by Neji's right.

Hinata blushed at their position while the others looked like they wanted to laugh.

"Get off of me pipsqueak!" Neji yelled as he tried pushing Ed off of him.

"Stop pushing, I'm trying! AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK!?" Ed yelled back. Now the two adults started laughing at Ed and Neji, even Hinata was giggling. After that little incident they headed inside with the two glaring at each other.

* * *

"Where's Hinata?" Ed thought out loud as he looked around. He hadn't seen her in a while and he was starting to worry. There was also that Neji guy, he wasn't here either. Now that he thinks about it, Armstrong also wasn't here as well. Did they go somewhere?

"If you're looking for Hinata she went out to train with her cousin at least that's what she told me. I think that Alex went with them also because I saw him with them earlier." Pinako said plainly as she continued to fix Ed's leg.

"To train huh?" Ed though out, walking out of the room and into the living room. He sat on the couch and leaned backwards with his arms on the couch. Now that he thinks about it, he and Al don't really know that much about Hinata. The practically only thing they knew were the basics: her age, name, height, etc. She had never told them about her past or where she's from. She still hadn't even told him about that eye thing she did, and those moves too. Speaking of moves, what kind of moves were those? They were weird, and strong. With only on tap of her palm she sent Scar flying a couple of feet. She might even know techniques that could help them out with their bodies.

When Hinata comes back he will ask her about it, that's a plan.

* * *

Hinata wondered if it was okay to not tell Ed or Al that they were going out to train. She was worried that they might worry about her and the two. Even though it was a low chance, Scar might have followed them, or maybe some other enemy. Though it was highly unlikely she was sure of that.

She was glad that Neji had agreed to help her train and spar with her. She hadn't fought with him in a long time and she wanted to see how much stronger she had gotten. Neji was one of the few that Hinata felt comfortable around, the Namikaze's, Kurenai-sensei, and Ed and Al were also. Though there was also Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino, and the two Uchiha brothers. She missed all her friends back at the village and wished she could see them. She hadn't seen them in about a year and a half or so so she missed them.

"This should be far enough." Hinata heard Neji say. As we stopped, I looked around to see that we were in a field filled with grass and a couple of trees. The place was quiet and peaceful, with a soft breeze floating around. Perfect.

The three stayed still not moving for the two didn't feel comfortable fighting with Alex there, not wanting to show their moves to outsiders and revealing secrets. There was an awkward silence as the three stood there, not making a noise. It was Alex who spoke first.

"Well? Aren't you two going to spar? I thought that you for that reason." Alex said. Hinata stiffened as Neji spoke.

"We can't exactly fight when outsiders are watching, that was why we protested in you coming along and watching." Neji told him coolly. Alex turned his head and looked at Neji, confusion clearly seen in his face. Then his eyes lit up as he realized what Neji just said.

"Oh do not worry, I am an ally. And don't worry I will not tell a soul. I swear!" Alex said confidently, though it sounded more like a yell, while flexing. The two sweat-dropped as Hinata laughed nervously. They didn't really have a choice, did they? They wouldn't be able to spar if they stood there or waited for Alex to leave. If they wanted to have a match then they would have to trust Alex in his word.

Sighing, the two walked up and a couple of meters away from each other. They got into their stances and activated their Byakugan. A couple of seconds passed as they stood still. Then, they charged at each other.

Hinata thrust her palm at Neji but he only knocked it out of the way with ease. Hinata shot out her left palm this time but Neji knocked it out of the way with same ease. This continued for a couple of seconds. Then Neji began striking her, though she either dodged them or knocked them out of the way.

When about ten seconds of this passed, Neji ducked at her attack and hit Hinata in the stomach. Hinata backed away and smiled slightly.

**Poof**.

It was a clone. There was another poof as Hinata deactivated the jutsu and transformed back into herself, charging at Neji when she did. As Hinata neared Neji, he began to spin and let chakra out while slightly yelling "Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven". Hinata flew back a couple of feet as the attack and her made contact.

**Poof.** Another clone. **Swish. Clang.**

Neji took out a kunai as Hinata's kunai flew at him, blocking it. The two charged at each other, weapons clashing as they made contact.

Alex watched in amazement as the two fought He had never seen moves such as the two performed. They weren't alchemy, nor were they normal fighting moves. There was a blue light that emitted from their palms and Neji' spinning technique. He wondered where they learned to fight like that. It was amazing, and powerful.

"Now that the warm-up is done the real thing starts now." Neji announced, making Alex's eyes widen in shock and surprise. Alex stared in awe as he watched them fight. He had never seen anything like this. To any normal bystander, it looked like they were just trying to palm each other, which they were. But he could see that there was much more to the moves then meets the eye.

Their moves were elegant and graceful, but also very powerful. It looked almost like they were dancing. He noticed some other moves in there that he had never seen before. There was one of duplicating or replacing one's body, another of transforming one's body into something else, and one of increasing one's weapon in amount once thrown. It was amazing, something he very much wanted to know about.

He was sure that such moves could help the military, but it could also make it worse. If such moves were to be seen by the military they would use it to their advantage. Probably even study it. Such moves might cause trouble.

A deep shout sounded out knocking him out of his thoughts. "Dammit Hinata! Stop holding back and hesitating!" Neji yelled at her in frustration.

"When in battle never hold back unless needed too!" Neji scolded her. The two kept battling, only stopping for a second or so to talk or rest. With every move Hinata made Neji became more frustrated. If this was how Hinata was then he was afraid to leave her alone with the boys. Sure the boys looked strong, but that was it. They were pretty weak, atleast to him and probably everyone in the shinobi world, maybe even weaker than Hinata. If they were to come into contact with a powerful enemy who is much stronger then them, then they were toast.

With the way Hinata was Neji was sure she would hold back on the enemy even if she didn't like him, which would be their downfall. Sure, Hinata was able to numb the limbs and such, but that's about it. Even them she holds back. Neji could tell that she hesitates right when she is about to strike, but does in the end. If an enemy were to find her weakness then she would be done for, he was sure. And he didn't wan't that. After all, even if she left their country he was still her guardian, as well as her friend. Shaking back the thoughts, he continued to fight with Hinata.

* * *

It was sunset by the time Hinata and Alex had come back to the Rockbell's house. The two were tired and hungry by that time, having sparred with each other to help Hinata with her training. Neji started the long walk back to Konoha once they decided it was time to stop, giving Hinata some tips before he left. She was really grateful for Neji's time and help, thanking him lots during the training and before he left. It took a long twenty minute walk back, which was quiet due to them not wanting to exhaust anymore energy.

Once they entered the house they were bombarded with questions by Ed which consisted of where they were, what they were doing, what took them so long, where Neji was, why they looked beaten up, why they didn't tell him, etc.

When Alex and Hinata were about half way to answering his questions Pinako announced that dinner was done and that they won't get any if they didn't come. Rushing over to the kitchen they sat down once they were there. A couple of seconds later Winry came in too but stopped at the doorway when she spotted Hinata, not haven met her since she was making Ed's arm.

"We have another guest?" Winry asked as she walked to her seat and sat down, still looking at Hinata.

"Oh yeah, you weren't here when Hinata came so you don't know." Ed said.

"This is Ms. Hinata Hyuga, she's a State Alchemist just like Edward is. The Gentle Fist Alchemist. She's also accompanying Edward and Alphonse on their journey." Alex introduced before Ed could. Hinata got up and bowed once Alex was done talking.

"I-it's a please to..to meet y-you." Hinata said as she bowed. Once she was done bowing she sat back down. She wasn't sure but she could have sworn she saw jealousy in Winry's eyes, but she pushed that thought to the back of her head when Winry began to talk.

"Hello, my name is Winry Rockbell, I'm a childhood friend of Ed and Al and also Ed's mechanic." Winry introduced with a smile, also getting up and bowing. Hinata returned the smile as Winry sat back down.

"I never knew you had manners Winry." Ed said in mocked shock. As soon as he finished Winry shot her head at him and stood. "What was that Alchemy Freak!?" She yelled/asked.

"Nothing..." Ed mumbled turning his head in the opposite direction of her while plucking his lips out. That's when Winry snapped. Getting out her trusty wrench from hell, she whacked it at Ed. Ed, seeing this coming, moved out of the way and stood with a wide grin on his face for his accomplishment.

"Ha! You mi-" He didn't get the chance to finish his bragging when a wrench was thrown right at his head. Falling down from the hit with blood oozing from his forehead where the wrench hit, unconscious. Winry scoffed at him.

"What was that about missing now?" Winry questioned, crossing her arms and sitting back down.

"Now, I can't wait to dig in and eat! I'm so hungry I could die!" Winry exclaimed and clasped her hands as she stared at the food. Everyone, except Ed and Hinata, looked at her like she was insane. Hinata got up and hurried over to see whether Ed was alright or not, panic and worry evident on her face. As she knelt down beside Ed Winry began to speak.

"Don't worry about him, he's alright. He deserves it anyways." Winry told her. Hinata only looked at her before turning back to Ed, getting out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off of Ed's face.

"Ow, my head hurts..." Ed groaned as he stirred back into consciousness "What happened?" Ed asked. That's when he noticed Hinata kneeling down beside him and a warm liquid trickling the side of his face, Hinata trying to clean it up. That's when he remembered what occurred right before he lost consciousness Jolting up into a sitting position he glared at Winry. "What the hell was that for Winry?" Ed asked in frustration.

Winry didn't even bother turning around to face him as she spoke. "You deserved it, Alchemy Freak." Winry told him coolly.

"P-please stay still, E-Ed! You're g-gonna make the i-injury worse." Hinata told him. Ed stopped and look at her just remembering that she had been there, haven forgot that when he remembered what had happened before he passed out and yelling at Winry.

"W-we should really get that cleaned u-up quickly..." Hinata thought out as she finished wiping the blood, only for more to come gushing out. "H-hold this t-to your head. I'll be r-right back with some bandages a-and antiseptic spray just in case." Hinata said as she got up and ran to her backpack before Ed could say anything. Hinata almost immediately came back with the bandages and spray. Kneeling back down by Ed, Hinata began to wipe the rest of the blood and quickly sprayed the antiseptic spray on before quickly bandaging up the wound.

"T-there!" Hinata said with a smile, proud of her work. She was about to stand up when Ed began to talk. "You know, you didn't have to do that, it's not like it's a big wound." He told her. Hinata got up and blushed, bowing slightly. "I-I'm sor-" Hinata began but Ed interrupted her. "Stop apologizing, you didn't do anything wrong." Ed said, slightly annoyed at her always apologizing.

"I-I-I'm so-" Ed glared at her, letting out a "Huh?" and making her stop. "W-w-what I-I mean is...is ok-okay!" Hinata squeaked out, putting her hands up in front of her in a defensive way while taking a step back. Ed sure could be scary at times.

After that they sat down and ate. Once everyone was done Hinata offered to clean the dishes which Pinako accepted, having needing to finish with Ed's leg. It was late out by the time Hinata was done and she was tired, from the training and the events after that. Pinako had given her a spare room that they had, which was the last, which Hinata was very grateful for.

As soon as she was done the dishes and cleaned the table she had gone straight to her room. Once she was there she let herself drop to the bed, luckily having her head land on a pillow. Letting out a soft sigh, Hinata let sleep consume her.

* * *

_"Mama! Mama!" A little girl called out. The girl's short midnight blue hair fluttered in the breeze as she ran over to where her mother was. Stopping right in front of her mother who knelt down to her height, the girl smiled brightly as she pulled out something from behind her back. There, in her tiny hands, were a dozen of some of her mother's favorite flowers, lilacs and lisianthus'. The lisianthus, which were a lavender color, were placed in the middle while the lilacs, which were white, were placed all around the lisianthus'. She remembered how her mother had said that the meaning of lisianthus' were calming__while the white lilacs represented youthful innocence._

_"And what do we have here?" Her mother asked sweetly with a soft smile._

_"They're your favorite flowers! I found them in the garden and wanted to give it to you!" The little girl told her mother, the bright smile still on her face. The girl's mother took the flowers and hugged her daughter._

_As the girl hugged her mother she whispered a soft "I love you mommy" before snuggling deeper into her mother. "That's so sweet of you." Her mother told her. Suddenly, her mother's grip on her tightened until her nails were slightly piercing the girl's skin as she began to speak. "But... If you love mommy then why...?" The mother asked as she slightly pulled the girl away from her to look into her eyes._

_Tears welled up in the girl's face from the pain as she looked at her mother in fear. No. The girl could not believe that the woman in front of her was actually her mother. Her mother was always so nice and gentle with her, this person was hurting her. This person, she couldn't be her mother. She might look and sound like her mother but she couldn't be her mother. The girl was about to scream but stopped when she heard her mother's next words. "Why? Why did you kill mommy if you love her, Hinata?"_

_All of a sudden the scene changed and she was in a dark room. Hinata recognized the room as her mother's study room. As she looked around Hinata spotted her mother on the ground, a big pile of red liquid right beneath and around her. Her mother's blood. Hinata froze as she stared at her mother, clenching her hands. That's when she noticed that she was holding something. Lifting up her hand with the item still in it, Hinata looked to see that it was a sword. She recognized the sword. Yes, it was the sword that she used to kill her mother._

_Blood dripped from the sword unto the floor as Hinata began to tremble. Letting go of the sword, Hinata fell down to her knees and cupped her cheeks with her hands as she screamed._

_**No no no no no no no no no NO! This can't be happening! I...I killed her, I killed my mother. But I...I didn't mean to, it was an accident. I only wanted to help mother, I didn't mean for this to happen...**_

_"Hi...Hinata..." Hinata froze for a second. Slowly, she looked up and to where her mother lay. Hinata stared at her mother's body in horror, it was rotten and boney with lots of blood on it and around. It didn't look human, not one bit, more like a monster. Hinata couldn't look at it anymore, she closed her eyes and let out a deafening scream._

"AH!" Hinata screamed as jolted up into a sitting position, sweating and panting. She looked around to see that she wasn't in the same room. _It's just a dream... A nightmare. But, it felt so real..._ Hinata hugged her knees as she let warm salty tears fall.

After about twenty minutes of crying Hinata decided to head to the kitchen for a drink of water. As she headed down the hallway she noticed Al against the wall, though she couldn't tell if he was sleeping. Wanting to see if he was asleep or not, Hinata walked quietly over to Al.

Hinata knelt down beside him and stared at his metal face in awe, she was still amazed at how he's able to live without a human body. She wondered how it felt to have a suit of armor as a body, seeing as he doesn't have to worry about getting hurt and such. But, she also wondered how much pain it brought to him. She guessed that it must feel awful to not be able to eat or touch, not even age.

Hinata lifted her arm and touched the side of his head, tracing one of the vents on it with her thumb. She had never seen something like this. She wondered how exactly his real human form looked like, was it like Ed's? She wondered if he also had golden hair and eyes like his brother, and whether his hair was short or long, or if he was taller than Ed even if he was younger.

As she touched Al's face his eyes lit up as his face slightly tilted up in surprise.

"Kyah!" Hinata screamed in surprise as she fell back on her rear. Al looked down to see Hinata sitting on the ground rubbing her butt. "Ah, Hinata? I'm sorry if I startled you but what are you doing up so late?" He asked as Hinata looked up at him. She gave him a sad smile as looked down at the floor. "I...I couldn't s-sleep..." Hinata lied.

"Oh." Was all that Al said.

"H-hey Al?" Hinata said.

"Yeah?"

"I-is..is it okay if I s-stay with you for a bit?" Hinata asked as she looked up at Al with a pleading look on her face. Al stared at her not knowing how to answer, he was really surprised that she asked him that, but also happy since he was lonely.

After a couple of seconds Al snapped out of his daze, giving her a nod to say yes. Hinata gave him a small smile as she crawled over to his left and sat down. Hinata pulled her knees up to her chest and placed her arms on her knees. There was an awkward silence as the two sat there. The two weren't sure what to say to each other. Finally, after building up some courage, Hinata began. "Hey A-Al?"

"Yeah?" Al responded. Hinata shifted slightly as a small blush began to form on her cheeks.

"D-does... does Winry l-like Ed?" Hinata asked. She had been wondering about it ever since she first met Winry when she thought she saw jealousy in the girl's eyes. Though Ed never voiced it, she was sure that he liked her also. Though it wasn't that Hinata was jealous, not at all. She was just curious about the two's relationship with each other. She even thought that they looked really cute together.

"Ah, yeah... but how did you find out?" Al questioned. Hinata poked her fingers together, something she did when she was younger, and lightly bit her lip. "Would it s-sound crazy if I-I told you that I saw a g-glint of jealousy in Winry's eyes when Mr. Armstrong told her I was a-accompanying t-the two of you? O-or t-that the two have a bit of a different a-atmostphere around each o-other when they're toghether?" Hinata asked as she fiddled with her fingers, hoping he didn't think she was crazy.

"No, though it might seem weird, I don't think so. I mean, my situation is way weirder if you think about it and I wouldn't get it pass Winry if she felt at least a little bit jealous by you accompanying us." Al told her as he let out a soft chuckle. Hinata gigled at this, he did have a point.

That's when she thought of something. "H-hey Al?"

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Do you...d-do you like Winry also?" Hinata asked. Though it wasn't like Ed's, she could feel a like-like sort of atmostphere around Al when Winry's around.

"Ah...well..." Al fumbled over his words. Hinata could have sworn she saw a pink tint in his helmet where the cheeks would have been, but brushed it off. She did though have to stop herself from laughing as she watched Al fiddle, that, she was certain, was a yes to her question.

"It's ok, you don't have to answer, I think I already know the answer." Hinata told him as she let out a giggle. Al chuckled softly in embarrassment before he realized something. "Ah...wait, you didn't stutter just not!" Al noticed.

Hinata stopped giggling as she thought back, she really did manage to speak to Al without stuttering. But then again, that just meant that she felt comfortable around him now if she was able to manage without stuttering.

"I guess you're right!" Hinata exclaimed, smiling up at him. Al looked down at her and nodded his head, happy for his friend. "By the way, you never told us how you did that eye thing." Al remembered. Hinata's smiled faded as she looked down at her hands, she totally forgot about that.

"Is something wrong?" Al asked, worry evident in his voice Hinata nodded her head. She wasn't exactly sure how to explain it to him, let alone if she was even allowed to tell him. But she did make a promise to them, so she had to tell them. Biting her bottom lip, Hinata let the word out of her mouth. "Chakra..."

"Huh?"

"Chakra." Hinata repeated.

"What's that?" Al asked.

"Chakra is the molding of the physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience. Once molded it can be channeled through the chakra circulatory system to any of the 361 chakra points, called tenketsu, in the body. Through hand seals, chakra can then be manipulated to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise, such as walking on water, exhaling fire or creating illusions." Hinata explained. "Do you understand what I just said?" She asked as she looked up at Al

"Ah..." Was all that Al got out.

"Would you like me to show you some jutsus?" Hinata asked.

"Really?" Al exclaimed. Hinata nodded her head and stood up, smiling at him.

Making a single hand sign Hinata focused her chakra to her feet before placing her right foot on the wall that she had leaned on not so long ago. Then, she got her left foot and planted it in the wall. She began walking up the wall until she was upside down to Al with her feet planted on the ceiling. "Wow, that's amazing!" Al let out. If it weren't for his damaged 'body' he would have jumped in excitement.

"Hey, do you think I could do that too?" Al asked. Hinata jumped down and put her right index and thumb to her chin, thinking. After about a minute, Hinata sighed. "I don't know... To be able to do jutsus, one needs to have the chakra system, and you don't have anything in that body right now." Hinata admitted but then regretted as she watched Al look down in hurt. "But it is possible! I mean, you're able to think without a brain! And live without a heart! So surely you'd be able to use chakra without the system!" Hinata tried to cheer him up.

Al looked up at her, his face brightening up a little. Then, something hit him. "Hey, you're right! But, it makes me wonder..." Al said as he looked back down at the ground. "How is it that I'm able to think and move without a brain, and how I'm able to live without a heart... I don't understand."

Hinata walked over to him and sat next to him, in the same place as she did before. She gave him a smile as she began to speak. "Maybe that's just proof that we can get your original body back." She assured him, giving him a small smile. Al looked at her for a second before nodding his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right!" He exclaimed, making Hinata grin.

"Hey Al, you like cats, right?" Hinata questioned out of the blue.

"Yeah..." Al responded cautiously, not knowning where this was going.

"Would you like to see me do another jutsu?" Hinata asked.

"Would you?" Al replied, happily. Hinata nodded her head as she stood up.

"How would you like to see me perform the Summoning Jutsu?" Hinata said as she smiled at him.

"Summoning Jutsu?" Al asked, confused.

"Yup! Here, watch!" Hinata said as she bit her right thumb and slammed it down on the ground, smoke appearing a second later. "Daichi reporting for duty!" A brown and white cat saluted as the smoke disappeared.

"Hello, Daichi!" Hinata greeted.

"Hello to you to, Mistress Hinata." Daichi greeted back.

"Wow! No way, it can talk!" Al almost yelled in disbelief.

"Shh... We don't want to wake everyone up." Hinata said, putting a finger to her mouth. Al nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "So...sorry." He apologized, which Hinata returned with a smile.

"Now, I'd like you to meet Daichi, one of my trusted friends and allies. Daichi, this is Alphonse Elric, one of my friends and one of the two who I've been ordered to accompany." Hinata introduced.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Elric." Daichi said, bowing.

"Er...you two." Al replied nervously. Never in his life had he seen a cat talk so it was a major surprise to him.

"Don't be surprised, there are many like him. You see, all summoning animals can talk. They were born like that to aid people like us." Hinata explained as she gestured to Daichi, who nodded.

"We aren't like normal animals. I'm a Nin Cat. Unlike normal cats, Nin. Cats are able to fight almost like normal humans and are able to communicate with our summoners. We can also perform jutsus and grow bigger than normal cats, who can grow up to 24 ft. in height. You could even say we are much smarter than normal cats." Daichi told him.

"That's right. But Nin. Cats aren't the only ones out there. There are also other animals like dogs and frogs, etc. To be able to summon them, one must first sign a summoning contract. So far, I have a contract with the cat and dog families. For instance, I can summon a tiger or a lion because it is in the cat family, or I can summon a wolf or a dog because it is in the dog family you could say (sounds stupid, I know. But work with me here)." Hinata explained to Al, a finger lifted up. "Do you understand?"

"I...I think so." Al answered sheepishly.

The two, plus cat, continued to talk until Daichi had to go. After he left, Al and Hinata talked a bit more until Hinata became sleepy. Al offered her to sleep on the floor next to him since she would always refuse his offer to go to sleep in her room, telling him that she didn't want to leave him. With a bit of pursuing, Hinata had finally obliged and left to her room to get her pillow and blanket. Once she had that, she went back to Al and layed down, her head on the pillow and blanket over her. She spent another ten minutes talking to Al before falling asleep unconsciously. To say the least, it was the first time Al actually wanted the night to go by slower.

* * *

"Al, it's your turn!" Ed yelled running outside to Al, while interrupting Winry's speech. It was in the afternoon now and Winry and her grandmother had finished with Ed's arm and leg and had just attached it to his should and thigh. Hinata was currently laying on the roof watching the clouds (so Shika-like, right?). Al had woken her up before anyone awoke so that no one would get a misunderstanding when they found her sleeping right beside Al. And because she had asked him to.

After thanking Al for waking her up, she had headed to her room to change into cleaner clothes. After that she had gone for a short walk, where she had found a nice and quiet place to train. Once she was done training, she had gone back to the house and had something to eat. Then, she headed straight for the roof and watched Ed and Al until Winry had come out to inform Ed that his leg and arm was ready, which Ed headed inside. She hadn't gone inside, even is she wanted to badly, but instead choose to stay on the roof and relax. She didn't want anyone to find out that she was tired, the bags under her eyes were a pretty big hint even though they weren't that dark.

Hinata watched as Ed ran over to Al as Alex followed him to watch. Hinata crawled over to the edge as she eyed the scene. Ed began to explain to Alex how Al was able to stay in the suit of armor and how it was important not to damage the seal. Hinata stared wide-eyed at the seal that was placed where she guessed was the inside of upper part of the back, her vision not very good from where she was.

Ed clapped his hands and slammed them down on the ground as a blue-white light appeared and surrounded the place they stood. Then, the suit of armor was repaired and Al was standing up.

"There you go! Good as new! You ready to try it out?" Ed said.

"Yeah!" Al answered. Then the two proceeded over to the front and began to spar. Hinata watched the two fight, seeing as there was nothing else to do. _I wonder if Al told Ed about chakra yet... If I know Ed, he'd probably ask me to teach him and I'm not sure exactly how to do that._ Hinata thought. That's when she remembered something. _Oh no! I forgot to tell them about the conversation between Neji and I!_

Hinata mentally slapped her forehead. She couldn't believe she forgot something so important. She was afraid that she was starting to become like Neji or his sensei, the two were quite forgetful. Like sensei like student her mother would always say.

_But I can't tell them now, they're busy. I guess I'll have to tell them later..._ And with that, Hinata sighed. Crawling over to the place she was last at, Hinata laid down and continued to watch the clouds. After a couple of minutes watching, Hinata fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"It...it's already this l-late!?" Hinata yelled in shock as she stood up. It was completely dark and the stars were all out filling the sky with their shine. There was a slight breeze and a couple of clouds up in the sky. Hinata shivered slightly, wrapping her arms around herself in an effort to keep warm. _I can't believe I fell asleep, and for so long!_

Jumping down from the roof and landing silently and gracefully on the ground, Hinata headed inside. Opening the door slowly, Hinata quietly closed it and proceeded to her room.

"Oh Hinata! Where have you been!" Al asked as he ran to her.

"Ah...n-no w-where, just out for a...w-walk?" Hinata lied, terribly. Al crossed his arms and stared at her in disbelief and suspicion.

"Well... I-I b-better go to my r-room n-now, see you!" Hinata said, waving bye. She was about to run to her room when Al stopped her.

"Aren't you hungry?" He asked. As if on cue, Hinata's stomach growled. Blushing, Hinata gripped her stomach and ran off. "I-I'll eat later!" Was the only thing she said before vanishing.

"Aye, aye..." Al sighed, scratching his head with his right hand before chuckling.

* * *

"H...hey A-Al?" Al turned his head to see Hinata standing at the doorway of the living room. Hinata walked over to him and knelt beside him before he replied. "Yeah?"

"Can...can I s-stay with you again tonight?" Hinata asked.

"But-"

"Please?" Hinata pleaded, interrupting him. Al sighed before nodding his head and looking back straight. Hinata mumbled a small "Thanks" before sitting down beside him, a blush spread on her face. Oh, how happy she was he wasn't looking, or that would have been even more embarrassing. Shifting slightly, Hinata leaned her head onto Al's arm, a smile on her face. "Thanks for letting me stay here again." Hinata thanked again.

Al looked down at her in surprise, he wasn't expecting this. The Hyuga girl was always shy, so doing something this bold on purpose was shocking. But, he was happy none the less. He actually enjoyed her company. It must less lonelier with her here keeping him company. Though he was worried for her, not sleeping for so long wasn't a good thing. Though, unless she naturally just falls asleep, he couldn't do anything to make her sleep.

But, he was still happy to have her here with him, keeping him company in the lonely night.

The two stayed like that for a while, having small talks with each other. After that, they went outside and looked at the stars and played with each other. Though, they made sure to stay silent as to not wake anyone up. Without knowing it, the time flew by fast and it was almost time to go.

* * *

"Thank you again for everything, Granny." Ed thanked.

"Sure." Pinako replied.

"Hey, where's Winry?" Al asked, looking around for his childhood friend.

"Resting. She stayed up three nights in a row. Want me to wake her." Pinako asked. Ed turned from her and began to head out.

"Nah, that's ok. She'd just nag me. Make sure to do your maintenance, or whatever..." Ed told her giving her a dismissive wave. Al and Alex followed Ed as they headed out. Hinata bowed to Pinako to show her gratitude. "Th-thank y-you for letting me s-stay here."

"It's no problem, you're welcome anytime." Pinako waved it off. "You hear that, boys?" The boys halted in their walk as they turned around. "You should come over and have dinner with us." She told them. Al nodded in response as Hinata ran over to them.

"Heh. You want us to come all this way into the mountains just to have dinner?" Ed smiled as he said that. Pinako grinned at his response. Hinata looked up to the balcony as she noticed Winry lean onto the wooden bars.

"Edward, Alphonse." Winry called out waving to them, gaining their attention. "Come back soon, 'Kay?" Hinata looked to Ed to see him turn around and rub his head sheepishly, a small blush on his cheeks. _Love..._ Hinata thought as a smile appeared on her face.

"Yeah." He replied waving to her and walking away. Al did the same as he and also began walking with Alex follow right behind them. Bowing, once again, to them, Hinata also headed out with the boys.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Remember to review 'cause it'll help update faster! And also, remember to vote!**


	8. Search Time

**I'm so so so sorry that I took so long to update this! It's just with schoolwork and then my other stories, my life has been pretty busy. Thank you for your patience and still sticking around. :) Oh, and I'm probably not gonna update until _my_ summer break starts, which is like in 2 weeks or so. :/ I'm gonna try to update this story once a month from now on, though I won't make any promises! Anyway, here are the votes so far:**

**EdHina (10)**

**AlHina (3)**

**EnvyHina, GreedHina (2)**

**LingHina, SasuHina, KibaHina (1)**

**NejiHina, NaruHina (0)**

* * *

"AAAHHH! Doctor Marco's research! It's all gone!" Ed yelled in disbelief, disappointment, and anger. The three group of friends and Armstrong were standing just in front of the library, staring wide-eyed at it, not wanting to believe what they were seeing.

They had gone through lots of trouble and waited a long time, and when they finally arrived at a place where they were really close to getting the two boy's bodies back, they find that that place is destroyed. Hinata knew that the two boys were probably devastated, especially since they had waited and searched for so long, going through lots of trouble, and then have to start all over. The bluenette was sure that she would feel the same way too if she had to go through what they did. Though...

"Though it is not likely, what we are looking for might still be okay." Armstrong spoke up, though he had great doubt in his tone.

Everyone nodded and headed over inside the leftover of the entrance and started looking around. Hinata walked up to some burned books that she saw not too far away from the group and knelt down, picking up the book and looking at it. Though as soon as she did, it crumbled under her touch, disintegrating. She frowned, there was no way that any of the books would have managed to make it out without being destroyed.

Hinata walked back to Ed, as did the others. She wished she could help in any way, but she knew she couldn't. The heiress couldn't bring the library back, nor the books, and she didn't know anything about the Philosopher's Stone except for what her mother told her, which was very little and probably wouldn't help at all.

"There's nothing left here but ashes, everything is gone." Ed mumbled before getting up.

"Major Armstrong!" Came an unfamiliar voice from behind. Everyone looked back at the source, finding a man with blond hair and a woman with short black hair, both wearing the military uniform. The two saluted Armstrong as he looked back.

"2nd Lt. Ross and Sergeant Brosh. To what do we owe this pleasure?" Armstrong asked.

The two straightened up before the girl began to speak. "You have been ordered to report back to Headquarters, sir."

"We will be taking over supervision of Edward Elric, sir!" The man continued.

"Very well, he's yours." Armstrong said, an orange sparkle appearing as he did.

"What is this? Just when I think I'm home free, they saddle me with more bodyguards? This is getting old!" Ed whined. Hinata sweat dropped, this was, by no means, helping Ed. If anything, it was probably making him even more annoyed and angry. She just hoped that everything would be alright.

* * *

"All might not be lost. There is a woman who was well acquainted with the materials in the 1st Branch." 2nd Lt. Ross told them, gaining everyone's attention. Hope shown in the Elric's eyes, even Hinata's, as the three seemed to brighten up. "But unfortunately, she wasn't working there anymore." The mood went downhill as she finished.

Ed sighed, just when his hope was once again up, it was crashed. Crossing his arms, he looked away from the two escorts across from him. "That sounds incredibly helpful." He muttered in annoyance.

Hinata, who was sitting next to 2nd Lt. Ross because there wasn't anymore room on the other side, sighed softly. She wondered if the two will ever get their bodies back. With the rate they were going at, it didn't seem like they would get it anytime soon. And luck didn't seem to be on their side either. But then again, luck was also not on her side. Her search was also not going anywhere. But then again, she had put her search aside to focus on the two brothers, wanting to help them in their situation.

That reminded her, she still needed to ask them about the country and if they've felt or seen anything strange in it. The more she thought about her cousin's words, the more worried she got. And her two animal friends still had a couple of days until they needed to report, so she would have to wait for them if she wanted to know what they had to say. As Nin-animals, they had much better senses and such, making them more reliable. And they were quite smart, too. Their judgement has always been relied upon. That is, as long as they were smart, and the Nin-animals she sent out were nothing less.

Though right now it would be bad to ask the boys, she would have to wait until they are feeling more happier. She did not want them to experience even more worry and such, at least not right now. It would do them no good to worry about anything else. And besides, it might be dangerous for her to mention it with two military soldiers watching over them. No, she would have to wait.

"Something wrong?" Hinata heard Al say. She looked over to Al, then looked over at where she thought he was staring at, which seemed to be Sergeant Brosh.

"Oh, it's nothing. Although if you don't mind me asking, why are you wearing a suit of armor?" Brosh asked.

That made the three come to attention as they began to sweat, panicking on what to say. Ed and Al looked at each other, before looking back at the two escorts. "It's a hobby." The two brothers replied, clearly sweating as they hoped the two would believe them.

"A hobby? What kind of freaky hobby is that, Lt.?" Brosh questioned as the two turned to each other and brought their hands up so the two brothers wouldn't see their mouths move.

"Who are these boys, anyway?" 2nd Lt. Ross wondered.

Ed, Al, and Hinata looked out their windows, sweat still running down their faces. "So, what do you say Al, Hinata? It's a lovely view, isn't it?" Ed asked, trying not to sound panicked as he stared out the window.

"Oh, yeah... Yeah! It's gorgeous." Al replied, trying to sound casual.

"I-I m-must agree! B-Beautiful!" Hinata agreed, also trying not to sound suspicious.

* * *

The three, plus the two escorts, stood in front of the door that led to Sheska's place. Ed opened it and everyone peered in, before their eyes widened at how many books there were. The whole room was covered in them, almost no space at all to walk. It was also quite dark, it didn't seem like there were any lights on or anything. "Oh wow, there's gotta be a million of them!" Ed gawked into the room.

After staring into the room, the group proceeded to go in and search for the girl they were looking for.

It was cramped, Hinata was sure of that. The blunette barely had any room to move, having to stay against one side as she walked. Walking behind Al, Hinata followed the others as they walked forward.

"Ugh... Is there really someone living in this place?" Sergeant Brosh questioned, trying to walk forward.

"Miss Sheska? Are you here? Miss Sheska?" 2nd Lt. Ross called out, following carefully behind Sergeant Ross.

Hinata walked along behind Al, wondering whether someone really lived here. It wasn't that it was horrible, it was just that it looked like there was no room to sleep. Plus, there was the possibility that the books could collapse onto the person, a possibility that the books could kill that person.

She was about to pass an opening that lead to another place when she thought she heard something. She froze, before walking to the opening and peeking into it along with Al. She stared for a second, was that a hand?!

"Um..." Al began to speak. "Brother..."

That's when realization hit her. _It... it is a hand!_ Hinata yelled in her head. "There's somebody under there!" She yelled along with Al.

Everyone screamed in panic as they went over to the pile and began to dig.

* * *

Everyone sat on the ground, most panting._ I almost... didn't hear her..._ Hinata thought as she tried to catch her breath. She watched as the girl identified as 'Sheska' began to apologize repeatedly. "I thought I was going to suffocate down there." The woman said as she put her glasses on. "Thank you so much."

Ed removed the book that was on his head before closing it, then began to speak. "So... are you Sheska?" He asked.

"Yes."

"And you worked at the library..." Ed said.

The woman gasped and hugged herself as she looked away, making everyone flinch. Then, cupping her cheeks with her hands, looked up into space as sparkles appeared in her eyes, she began imagining the library. "Oh the library! The word itself is so beautiful. I've loved books my whole entire life, ever since I first learned to read as a little girl. That job was heaven!" Sheska exclaimed, somehow seeming to grow wings and float.

Then, all of a sudden, looked completely depressed as she was on her hands and knees. "But I forgot that I was suppose to be working and all I ever did was read. So they fired me." Al sweat dropped at this. "If I don't find another job then I won't ever be able to move my poor elderly mother into a better hospital. Ugh... But I'm hopeless. The only thing I can do is read. I'll never find another job as long as I live! I'm useless, good for nothing! More pathetic than pond scum!" Sheska yelled out, her hands on her cheeks and defeat shown clearly on her face.

"Um... excuse me. There was one thing we wanted to ask you." Ed said, raising up his left hand. This seemed to get Sheska's attention as she stopped sulking and looked at him in wonder and confusion. "Do you remember any research belonging to a man named Tim Marcoh?" Ed asked.

The girl took on a thinking position as she thought, the tip of her right index finger on her bottom lip. "Let's see... Tim Marcoh... Where do I know that name?" She thought before something came into her head, she clapped her hands together. "Oh, yes! Of course, I remember now!"

"Really?" Ed questioned.

"Oh yes, I'm absolutely positive! There was some handwritten notes stuffed into a pile where they didn't belong." Sheska answered.

"So they really were there after all." Ed said as he and Al leaned forward slightly, their eyes gleaming. That is, until they realized something and slid down to the ground in depression. "That means they burned along with everything else in the library..." Ed spoke solemnly.

"Did you want to read them? Is that why your asking?" Sheska asked.

Ed stood up as everyone else followed suit, and began walking to the door. "Yeah, but it's too late now. They're nothing but ashes." Ed told her.

"S-Sorry to bother you." Hinata said.

"I remember everything that was in them. Would that help at all?" Sheska asked.

Hinata, along with everyone else, stopped in the room with their eyes wide open, trying to register what she had just said. "HUH?!" Ed and Al let out, their eyes bulging as they walked to her and looked at her in disbelief.

"It's just how I am." Sheska told them, extending her right index finger up. "I'm able to remember the content of any book I've ever read." Ed and Al backed away from her and extended their arms into the air, tears of joy running down Ed's eyes in an anime style. "It'll take a while, but I can write it out for you." Sheska continued.

Ed took her hand and began shaking it, Al behind him celebrating as he waved around two hand-fans from wherever it was he got them from. Lots of confetti rained down from where ever as Al cheered. "Thank you, bookworm! You're my hero!" Ed thanked.

"You're... welcome?" Sheska replied hesitantly.

Hinata smiled, the two were finally close to getting their bodies back. And soon, she hoped. But she couldn't help but wonder, where exactly did they even get the confetti and fans?

* * *

"Here you are! Complete copy of all of Tim Marco's note!" Sheska told them, gesturing to the pile of notes on the table.

Hinata stared in awe at the pile. She couldn't believe how Sheska could just copy notes like that, being able to write an exact copy of something with just her memory. It was amazing! Sheska was amazing! It was a very rare skill, she didn't know anyone who could do that. Maybe after memorizing it by reading it a couple of times, but not just by seeing it once. Really, the woman was underrating herself! Hinata could only wish to have such a great memory!

"Sorry, I know five days is a long time to wait but there was quite a lot to write down." Ed walked over to the table and picked one up. Opening the first page, he began looking over the contents.

"Unbelievable! There are some amazing people in this world." Al said.

Hinata nodded. Al was right, this was unbelievable. With this, the brothers can find what they were looking for. And it is all thanks to Sheska!

"These are really Doctor Marcoh's research notes?" Ed questioned.

"Sure is, come and take a look at them." Hinata walked over to the pile and picked one of them up, flipping to the first page and looking it over. Hinata stared at the page, not quite sure what to think of it. Were... were these cooking recipes? All she could see was ingredients to foods and how to prepare them. Was this really Doctor Marcoh's research notes?

"Written by Tim Marcoh. One thousand easy (?) recipes!" Sheska told them.

Hinata's eyes narrowed some as she read the ingredients. If these were Dr. Marcoh's research notes, them there must be something more to this. He had said that his notes would be in the Library, and these were the only ones. Could it mean that the his research was hidden in here to confuse people? If that were true, then many people probably wouldn't have bothered looking in here since it looked like only a recipe book. It was the perfect place to hide his research. Even Hinata had doubts about it. If it hadn't been for Ed and Al telling her about how Dr. Marcoh hid his research in the 1st Branch, then Hinata would have never thought that this contained such information.

"Sheska, are you absolutely sure that this is the flawless reproduction of the notes?" Ed asked.

"Ah! Oh yes, I'm 100% certain!"

"Then thank you, you're incredible." Ed turned to Sheska, grinning at her. "Alright, let's get these back to the library."

"Hmm! They should have related materials there." Al agreed, picking up some of the papers and handing them to Seargant Brosh before taking some more. Hinata picked up a stack of them and proceeded over to the door. She stopped and turned around to face Sheska, bowing to her before standing up straight and continuing to the door. She heard Ed say something as she did, but didn't turn back. He was likely going to give her money for her services or something.

Just as Ed closed the door to Sheska's place and they proceeded onward, Hinata heard the two girls scream. Hinata looked at Ed, wondering just how much he had given them. She smiled at the thought of Sheska and how much she had helped the boys. She deserved whatever Ed gave her.

* * *

Hinata walked around the columns of the shelves filled with dozens of books. She scanned the names of each book, looking for anything that would be of use. She had already gathered a couple, but not too many. Her eyes landed on a couple of books that looked like there would help. Slowly outstretching her hand, Hinata took hold of the top of one of the books and pulled it out. She placed it on the growing pile of books she already found before getting the other two books.

Hinata hummed softly as she did so, a small smile on her face. She couldn't help but feel happy. After all, the boys were so close to having the Philosopher's Stone. All that stood in their way was the deciphering of the information and then they would be able to get their hands on a stone and get their bodies back. They were so close!

The bluenette walked by the books with half a dozen in her hands, almost reaching her chin. She continued to look, trying to find anymore that could be useful. It was a couple of seconds before Hinata found something that caught her eye. Stopping, Hinata stared at a book entitled "Amestris' Victories". It wasn't what the brothers needed, but she still wanted to see. Balancing the stack of books on her left hand, Hinata reached out and pulled the book out. She stared at the cover, it was a plain dark brown with the title neatly written in a golden yellow.

_Amestris' Victories... Could this book contain the wars this country fought in?_ She gazed at the book for a couple of seconds more. Turning to look behind her, Hinata found that no one was there. She looked ahead also, but found no one. Looking back at the book, Hinata's face turned in determination. Her eyes narrowed as she gripped the book tighter. This might be what she was looking for for information on this country.

Glancing back and forth once more for safety, Hinata put the book back where she found it once she found that it was clear. She made a mental note to come back to it once she brought the books to the two Elric's. She would do her own little research, though make sure no one knew.

Turning back so she faced the front, Hinata slow walk back to the boys.

"Hey Hinata, what took you so long?" Ed questioned, looking up from his book as he noticed the Hyuga girl. Hinata smiled at him, a small blush staining her cheeks. She was still not quite used to Edward fully yet. Though Al looked scary with his armor, it was Ed who scared her the most with his short temper. She was always careful with what she said around him, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his famous temper.

"S-Sorry, I got h-held up by some of the books." Hinata apologized, setting her stack of books down.

"Don't worry, it's alright." Ed replied.

Al moved over to stand beside her as he looked at the books she brought. "What have you found, Hinata?" Al asked, looking through the books before picking one up entitled 'Granum Frumenti'. He tilted his head to the side slightly at the title, wondering what it had to do with the stone.

"I found some b-books about the stone or that mentions the stone." She answered. Looking over Al's thick metal arm, Hinata saw the book he took. A small smile spread on her face at Al's confusion. "So this book talks about the Philosopher's Stone?" Al questioned.

Hinata nodded up at him, the smile still on her face. "Yup! Th-This book is all about the stone. Granum Frumenti is just another name f-for the stone. Though I was kinda s-surprised to find it way in the back where it didn't look like it belonged." She replied.

"Really?" Ed asked, getting up from his seat and walking over to Al to look at it also.

"T-That's right. But I'm surprised to find this book here, in Amestris. I-I had seen that exact same book in the library back at our home. That's how I know what the book is about." Hinata told them.

Al opened up to the first page and took in the words and symbols. He made sure to the book low enough so that his elder brother could also read, with what him being much shorter than the big tin can that was Al. The two read over the words, their minds gone as soon as they read the first word, concentrating solely on the book.

"I'll be back. I'm j-just going to go check something out." Hinata said, though knew it was pointless. The two were long gone and probably couldn't hear her. Heck, she was sure that they forgot that she was even there. Hinata's lips turned up into a smile as she turned and made her way to where she saw that book about the wars, leaving the two brothers to their reading.

Hinata pulled out the book and turned to the first page, reading over the contents. "Chapter 1, Riviere... It was in July, 1558, eight years after Amestris had been officially founded that the first war came to be..."

* * *

It was half way through the book that Al finally noticed something. He looked around, not spotting the lavender-eyed Hyuga anyway. "Hey brother, where's Hinata?" Al questioned, tilting his head slightly as he stared down at his brother.

Ed snapped out of his concentration and looked around, not finding the Gentle Fist Alchemist anywhere either. He scratched his forehead, not know either. "I'm not sure, Al. Wasn't she here a while ago...?"

"Should we go look for her?" Al asked.

"Nah, she'll be alright. She can take care of herself." Ed replied. Though he hated to admit it, Hinata was as strong as him, if not stronger. This was a major blow to his pride. The girl was the same age as Alphonse, yet she fought on equal grounds with Scar, even if it only lasted a couple of minutes. Yet he and Al couldn't even stand a chance against that psychopath! Not only that, but she was TALLER than Ed, yet he was OLDER! That hurt him so much, it felt like he had been pierce in the heart. Damn! Just thinking about it made his blood boil. He had lost to a shy and quiet girl, both in strength and height.

But even so, he could never be mad at her. She was nothing but nice to them, protecting and helping them even at the cost of her life and time. She had never asked for anything in return when it came to helping them. And she'd helped them lots! He still wasn't used to being around her though. The only other girl he had spent that much time with was Winry, and she usually hit him with her wrench. Well there was also his teacher, but she was scary as hell! But Hinata hadn't hit even once during their time together.

If it wasn't for Hinata, he would have thought that all girls were easily tempered and loved hitting him. "Let's get back to work, Al." Ed told him, bringing his attention back to the book he and Al were reading.

Al nodded his head, though a little hesitantly. He had complete faith in Hinata, though that still didn't mean he couldn't worry. But his brother was right, Hinata could take care of herself. With once last glance to his left, Al went back to reading the book he was previously reading.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon that Hinata found herself sitting on the floor hugging her legs to her chest, her back pressed to the wall and face on her arms. They had finally cracked the code. Hinata felt like crying, it was just so awfully. How could something so terrible be authorized by the military? No, how could something so awful even exist? This... this stone, was it really something someone should pursue?

Hinata lifted her head up slightly so that she could see the brothers. They looked so miserable and disgusted that it made this whole thing even more unbearable. Those two had gotten so close to getting their bodies back, and then it just suddenly disappears out of their grasps. If Hinata was feeling bad, she was sure that they were at least two times more upset than her.

"Damn it all!" Hinata heard Ed yell, finally able to find his voice. She cringed, his miserable-looking self brought tears to her eyes. She closed her eyes shut tightly, hoping to stop the tears from welling up in them. She didn't want to look weak in front of her friends.

Hinata heard the door creak open and the two bodyguards come in, but didn't quite pay attention. Her eyes were looked on the floor, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Her lavender-colored eyes that were so full of innocence were now a couple of shapes darker from being shadowed, looking dull and empty.

* * *

**The more reviews I get, the faster I update. Just saying! :P**


	9. Useless Me

**Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I've been kinda busy trying to update my other story. And sorry that this one is short, I wanted to have it posted as soon as possible seeing as it's already been a month since the last update. There might be some mistakes, and I'm sorry with that. I was in a hurry to get this done. This chapter is probably a bit boring, but I wanted to get it out of the way for the next chapter.**

**Anyway, to the story!**

* * *

Hinata lay on the couch staring up at the ceiling fan, her eyes red and swollen from crying so much. Her forearm rested on her forehead while her other arm hung off the couch and just brushed the floor. Since the moment she entered her room she had not left once except for when she had to go tell the boys something. Ever since finding out how the Philosopher's Stones was made, she had not smiled even once. Nothing but disbelief, anguish and anger was what she felt.

Hinata couldn't believe how people were actually hunting down something so awful. Sure the boys had, but she doubted they wanted it now after what they had learned. And how could the military authorize research on it? It digusted her to no end. She briefly wondered whether a stone had already been made, but shook her head after to get the idea out of her mind. After all, what if one was already made? Just how many people were sacrificed to make it? She didn't want to think about all of those people who had their blood spilled just for a stone.

She gulped back the tears that were threatening to fall. She didn't want to appear any weaker than she already was. She was tired of it. But she just couldn't help it! The truth was just so awful!

She was useless right now. Not only because she was feeling melancholy and dead after what she and the boys found out, but also because she _was_ useless right now.

The blue-haired girl felt like punching something hard to let out her frustration. Better yet, maybe she could just bang her head on something hard until she either faints from blood-loss or pain, or until she is able to fight again. Well, technically speaking, she still can fight, she just can't use any alchemy or jutsus. It just had to be that time didn't? That stupid time where she felt like nothing but a small ant that could be killed any minute by whoever wanted to wish her death! She hated that time! That stupid time of the month where her stupid seal just had to use all of her chakra so it can continue sealing whatever it was sealing!

That's right, Hinata had a seal on her body. Infact, her darn forehead was where the seal was located. The Uzumaki clan and the Hyuga clan had created the seal by using all their knowledge and bringing it together. It had been created a while ago and put on her the week after her mother had died. But for what reason, she did not know. No one bothered to tell her. When she had tried asking someone, they just said that it was there for her safety.

Hinata snorted, something that she almost never did but she couldn't help it. Yeah right, safety her butt. The only thing that it had ever helped her from was using her chakra at the worst of times, and even then it failed. And she would know, she had tried killing herself a bunch of times! Yes, that's right, little shy Hinata had thought of killing, only it was herself. She had thought that maybe if she were dead then she would be able to see her mother again. Even better, she could atone for the sin that she committed; for killing her mother.

It was a painful time in her life, thinking that her death would be what would make everyone happy. Would make the world happy. She hated that time, it was like _that damn thing_ was out to get her! To show her just what happened when you did an unforgiveable sin. And show her _it_ did. She was going through hell from the moment she had caused the most loved person in her life death, to the day she joined the military. No, even now it was hard to live.

No matter how much she tried to forget and just smile like she had no worries, the image of that _thing_ always popped into her mind. She cringed, the event of _that_ day replaying in her head.

The feeling of her stomach turning made her sit up and clutch her mouth. She felt like puking, it was just so awful. She may have seen many things kids her age should have never witnessed, with what her being a ninja, but no matter how much she saw or thought of it, it always unnerved her. The blood, all the damn blood.

Hinata stood up abruptly and headed to the bathroom, feeling something crawling up her throat from the pit of her stomach. She opened the door quickly and zoomed over to the toilet, kneeling down in front of it as the vile taste and smell of barf overtook her. The sounds of water splashing hit her ears as she gripped the toilet seat, not caring if bits of the nasty tasting puke got into her hair.

It wasn't only the blood. No, it was the sound of skin being pierced by kunais and shurikens and the sound of bones cracking and crunching as the body was being beaten. And the sight of all the blood mixed in with spilled organs and detached limbs. It sickened her to no end. She hated seeing it all, hearing it all, even knowing about it. And worse, she hated it when it was her that had to be the one to injure someone.

She hated fighting with a passion, it was against her very being. She couldn't comprehend the pleasure those murderers experienced when they killed and tortured. How could they smile and laugh like that, like what they did was nothing? Did they not feel bad for hurting someone? Just what goes through their minds when they commit those hateful acts? She just didn't get it at all.

Here she was, puking at the mere thought of killing, yet they can kill no problem and even feel pleasure from it! Why? It didn't make sense. Lots of shinobi in her village even frowned upon when they did not kill when required. She just couldn't believe it. All the kids that were required to kill, not even being able to experience their lives to the fullest. All they get for their efforts is an early death. Che, most people didn't even get to live to see their grandchildren! Some not even being able to marry!

Hinata sat up straight and wiped the leftover puke from around her mouth when she felt she didn't have to anymore. The remnants of that foul-tasting made her want to do nothing more but to either puke more or wash her mouth for a month. She gripped her throat with her other hand, the one that was still clean, as her throat burned. Slowly getting up once she felt that she didn't need to go anymore, she flushed the toilet and went to the sink.

Pulling the hand that held onto her throat loosely, Hinata turned the tabs to let the water run. She waited for a couple of seconds for the water to warm slightly before bringing her hands to the water and washing them quickly of the remnants of the barf. Once she was done, she got a handful of water and her head down to it while her hands went up closer to her mouth, pouring the water into her mouth before rinsing.

She did that for a couple of minutes before closing the water and drying her hands and mouth with a towel. A bittersweet smile adorned her lips as she thought of the difference between the kids that lived in the Elemental Countries and the kids that lived in countries outside of them. It was much easier for those who weren't shinobi or anywhere near the lands, not having to deal with killing and such at a very young age. They could play all they want without the worries of death and wars, and wondering if they would live another day.

Sure they had wars and death here too, but it wasn't like that of countries where she lived in. They got to be pure and innocent for much longer than her people. They could enjoy life more than shinobi could. It was sad, really. Her people had to strive to survive while here it was much easier. People here do occasionally experience life-threatening and unbearable situations, but it was nothing. Though there are those who lose so much, like Edward and Alphonse. But that was much rarer to see here.

But at least there were some kids who could keep their purety. It was better then none, afterall. And for that, she was happy. She only wished that every child could experience that. She knew she didn't. That was the reason she fought, and will continue to fight. If she could help at least one person, then she would do something as badas this.

Many people took for granted all the things that they have, not thinking about those with far worse lives then them. But that's how people were, greedy.

Yes even her, she was very greedy. There were many things that she wanted and little things that she was happy about. She wanted perfection, her clans love, being able to do what ever she wanted, her mother, to have a normal and happy life, and much more. She didn't like her weak and timid self. She longed to posses strength and confidence like Ed and Al did. They never feared anything, always going forward towards their goal and never giving up. That's what she admired about them. They were so courageous and strong, nothing like she was. She only wished to be like them. The two brothers were just so great, from their love for each other to the strength they possessed. It was amazing.

Speaking of the boys, Hinata wondered just how they were holding up right now. It must be really hard for them with what they just found out. The truth was just so cruel. When they finally thought that they could get their bodies back to normal, something just had to go wrong. Fate just loved messing with people, didn't it?

Hinata sighed and shook her head, she shouldn't be thinking of things like these. She should be looking at the bright side, if there was one. Maybe she should go and check on them? After all, it was awfully quiet. Was something wrong?

Hinata raced to the door as the thought of something bad happening to them flashed through her mind, not even caring to put on her coat as she ran out the door with only her blue strap-shirt and pants. She didn't have to run that far since the boys were right next door to her.

Peering inside, Hinata saw the two bodyguards that were assigned to Edward, one holding up some kind of rope while the other was clutching his head and crying, both agitated. "D-Did s-something happen?" Hinata asked, a little wary.

"Ah, Hinata! Good, at least your still here." Lt. Ross spoke in relief.

"Wh-What's going on?" Hinata asked in worry.

She looked around the place for the two Elric brothers, but couldn't find them. Panic and worry filled her being as she looked back at the two who were suppose to be guarding the boys.

"Wah! Major Armstrong is going to rip his shirt and start yelling at us again, isn't he?!" The other guard yelled, anime-styled tears running down his face while he gripped his head.

Lt. Ross tightened her grip on the cloth she was holding, making her knuckles. "Those brats are gonna pay! Did they even think about how it's going to make us look?" She questioned in irritation.

"E-Excuse me..." Hinata said, raising her hand up.

"Ah, sorry. To answer your question, it seems like the boys have snuck out through the window to go to Laboratory 5." She answered.

"Laboratory 5?" Hinata asked. Where was that? and why would they go there? "Wh-What's going on?"

The two guards looked away from her, not wanting to look at her worry-filled eyes. They didn't want to tell her what they had discovered, she didn't need to be involved in something so dangerous.

"Sorry, but we have to go." Lt. Ross muttered.

She and Seargant Brosch walked out of the door, giving her apologetic glances and hoping that she would understand.

Hinata choked back a sob as she watched them leave. No, she couldn't just leave the boys alone! There was something going on and the two seemed to be deadset on keeping it a secret from her. But she won't let them! She was involved in all of this whether they knew it or not.

If the boys were in danger, then she would go to them and try to help them! Even if it's at the cost of her life, she would protect them! She didn't want to say anymore of the people she loved die, she didn't want that. She vowed to protect them, and that was what she was going to do.

Hinata grabbed a hold of Seargant Brosch's wrist, making him halt in his step and looked down at her. She looked up at him in determination, she would not just leave this alone! "I'm going with you!"

Seargant Brosch took a step back, trying to get away from her. He didn't have the nerve to say no to her. But while he stepped back, she stepped forward. "I am going and nothing's going to change my mind! If you think that I can just ignore all of this and pretend that nothing happened, then you're dead wrong! I will protect the boys!"

"Hinata..." Lt. Ross mumbled.

"No! I've seen too many loved ones die, I will not have anymore! Ed and Al are in trouble, aren't they? If so, then I'm going to help them! After all, was I not assigned to look after them?" Hinata stated firmly.

It was silent for a moment, before Lt. Ross sighed, she had no choice. The girl was just too determined to help and nothing they say would stop her. "Fine... But if we deem it too dangerous, you will retreat."

"No!" Hinata yelled.

This seemed to surprise the two guards. They looked at her in worry, wanting her to not join in this fight. She was, after all, still young. She still had a lot to live for. But they knew it was pointless to change her mind. So with that, they sighed and the three ran off.

* * *

"Stay right there or the next one puts a hole in your head!" Lt. Ross ordered, holding up her gun as she got ready to shoot another bullet.

"This isn't going quite as I planned." The tin can that had almost gotten Al said, rubbing the back of his helmet.

It was silent, no noise could be heard as the tin can with axes stared down the trio, who glared at him. Hinata glared at him, before looking at Al from the corner of her eyes to see if he was alright.

Hinata sighed in relief when she saw that there was nothing wrong with him. He was alright and she was glad. She looked back at the other armor that had been fighting with Al, watching to see if he was going to do anything.

The silence lasted for a couple of seconds, before the ground beneath Hinata's feet shook, making her lose her balance. Hinata's eyes widened as she saw a big chunk of the wall fall down. The building began to crack and parts of it began to fall, before there was an explosion.

Hinata jumped back and out of the way of an incoming piece of the wall, moving just in time to avoid being crushed by it. She looked over at Al in worry, hearing the Lt. say something to him which he refused.

"But my brother is still inside!" Al told her.

Hinata's eyes widened as she looked back at the building. Ed was still in there? She had to get him out and quick, or else he was going to be crushed by the building! "Ed!" Hinata yelled as she ran to the exploding building.

"Hinata!" Al and the two guards cried out, but Hinata didn't listen.

Hinata stopped as some more parts of the building came crashing down in front of her. She shielded her nose from the smoke as she frantically looked around the building. She needed to find Ed.

Hinata was about to continue on, but another explosion for the building made her stop. She shielded her face the best she could as she stood her ground. She grit her teeth, she had to find Ed!

The blunette was about to call out again when something made her stop. A figure formed from within the smoke, walking out of the building at a casual pace, as if what was happening wasn't fazing him at all.

"There you are! I brought a present for you!" He yelled, walking over to Al and the two bodyguards.

Hinata smiled brightly when she saw Ed's unconscious form. "Ed!" Hinata yelled, quickly running over to the person carrying him.

Hinata knelt by Ed as the man who was carrying him put him down onto the ground, a bit roughly. "Ed?" Hinata asked, lifting up his upper body and letting his head rest on her chest. She looked over at Ed's body, spotting cuts ranging from minor to almost serious. His black shirt was wet from what she guessed was blood, and she could barely make out the rip at the left side of his stomach, with blood freely oozing out.

"His life's not in danger but he has lost a lot of blood so you might want to get him to a hospital as soon as you can."

Hinata looked up to where the voice came from and saw the man who had carried Ed. She looked at him questioningly, he wore all black and had the weirdest hairstyle Hinata had seen, it looked like a pine tree.

She looked back at Ed, tuning out the others. It was obvious that he was in a lot of pain by the face he was making. He certainly did look like he lost a lot of blood, seeing as his face was starting to pale. This only made her worry even more. If they didn't get him to the hospital soon, then there was a likely chance that he would die!

"Al..." Hinata didn't get to finish her sentence as the wall of the building came crashing down, pieces from it flying up into the air and more smoke forming from the fall.

Hinata closed her eyes tightly as she hugged Ed closer to her, shielding him from the debris. More and more of the building came crumpling down, before the whole thing fell apart.

Hinata pulled away from Ed, before quickly and carefully pulled him onto her back, trying not to cause him any more pain or worsening his condition.

"Hinata, you shou-" Al didn't get to finish his sentence as Hinata interrupted him.

"It's fine, Ed isn't that heavy! Besides, we don't have time to argue, we have to get out of here!" Hinata told him.

Al was reluctant as first and stayed quiet as he watched Hinata hoistered his older brother onto her back, before nodding slowly. She was right, they didn't have time to argue. If Hinata can carry him no problem, then be it that way. Right now, they had to concentrate on getting out. "We gotta go!" He shouted to the two bodyguards as he stood up.

Hinata took a step forward, before running on to where the gates were. They had to hurry or else they might die! And if they somehow survived, Ed might not. After all, he's lost too much blood!

The three ran as fast as they could, rushing to get to the gates.

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